Ahmed El Shorbagy
‘HOPE’ is an initiative for rescuing stray dogs, putting them in shelters, and feed, aid, and vaccinate them if needed. But Ahmed wants to provide more for these poor creatures, his plan is to make and propose a wide-nation campaign with the help of the government and charitable foundations.
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Ahmed El Shorbagy, I’m 37 years old, and I’m a communication engineer.
What is the most enjoyable part of your volunteering job?
The most enjoyable part is when I see the result of our efforts as a team when we rescue a real poor stray dog who suffered a lot, and see him afterward in a healthy condition, running and playing, and especially when he travels or someone adopts him.
What are the challenges you usually face? And how do you deal with them?
The biggest challenge we face is funding, as our country now suffers from financial issues, and the economic state isn’t at its best. The idea of animal welfare is new in Egypt, still no one is aware of it, and they prioritize donating to humans over animals. Furthermore, we are working on saving stray animals and making huge efforts to do so, but from another side, some governmental entities are poisoning these stray dogs and cats, so it’s like we are doing nothing.
Where did the idea of ‘HOPE’ come from?
The idea came when my own cat was so sick and none of the vets I visited knew how to cure her. So I went through the Facebook pages for animal shelters, it was 6 years ago, and there was the only shelter back then. People were very helpful, they recommended a doctor and he was very good and my cat was cured. After a few days, I saw a post on Facebook for a stray dog who was very sick and needed someone to adopt him, so I did, and it was the first dog to rescue. I named him ‘Hope’ because I had hope that he will be better, but unfortunately he died. Since then I didn’t stop rescuing stray dogs, it was like a hobby for me, but the clinic was full, and they had to let go of some dogs because they were fine and in good health. So I rent a small place and took them, they were 18 dogs, and now thankfully, we are one of the biggest shelters in Egypt.
What are your long-term goals for your animal shelter?
My long-term goal for the shelter is to be empty one day. There was a post on Facebook about a shelter in Texas saying that all dogs were adopted, and it is empty now, and that’s my dream for the shelter. Another goal is to sterilize more dogs to decrease poisoning incidents.
Tell our readers more about your initiative ‘HOPE’.
People keep calling, texting and sending us messages on our social media pages to take in stray dogs and cats, but unfortunately, we can’t take all of them, we have limited space, and we are already full. So, we came up with a new idea ‘The Hope Van’, each Friday it will target a new place, but mainly we targeting areas where people can’t afford to help stray animals. Additionally, pets owners who can’t afford their pet’s medicines and vaccinations, we can help them to, through aiding their pets and providing their vaccinations and everything they might need for free.
What are your expectations for ‘HOPE’?
My expectations for hope are more like plans, that we will launch more initiatives in the future to help all stray animals, like we do in our current initiative ‘The Hope Van’ but on a bigger scale.
What are the actions that should be taken in Egypt regarding stray animals’ issues?
My opinion is that the government should cooperate with charitable entities or individuals who care about animals’ welfare to launch a nation-wide sterilization campaign, and from my own point of view, that is the only solution for stray animals.
What do you wish more people knew about shelters?
People should know that shelters are not a permanent place for animals, we keep them only if they are sick, or if there is a natural disaster, other than that we let them go because there are other animals who need our care more.
Animal Rescue Organizations:
Hope Rescue:
Contact:
Ahmed El Shorbagy: 01006678878
Payment method:
Paypal: Hopek9rescue@gmail.com
Vodafone cash: 01094458429
ESMA
Contact:
Mona Khalil: 00 20 122 2188823
Payment method:
PayPal: info@georgeanimalfoundation.nl
Vodafone cash: 01011231813
Bank Account: El Tejari Wafaa Bank; Syria St. Branch.
Account Name: Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals.
Account Number: 000050001000523963.
Swift Code: BCBIEGCX
Animal Protection Foundation (APF)
Contact:
Lobna Bebeto: 01221109449
Payment method:
Bank Account: Egyptian Gulf Bank- EGB in the name of Animal Protection Foundation – Ammar Ebn Yasser
Branch Account no. 0047-605717-001
Swift: Eggbegcapay
PayPal: US Dollars animal.protection.eg@gmail.com
Unleashed Rescue
Contact:
Sally Yassin: 01063999482
Payment method:
Paypal: unleashedrescue.eg@gmail.com
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