About Us
The Friend Animal Foundation was founded in 1997 by a wealthy, eccentric, animal-loving lady by the name of Jean Friend when she took over Filippa’s Kennels in Tynwald. Sadly, Jean died of cerebral malaria in 1998. Her finances were left in trust mainly for the Tynwald setup but her legacy has helped many other animal welfare organizations as well. At the time of the Farm invasions, the Foundation helped wherever they could by offering to board pets free of charge and then relocate the pets - in conjunction with COMMAIR/British Airways - all over the world.
The economic hardships Zimbabwe has faced since Jean’s death has taken its toll and sadly her trust fund has reached the end of its life. This has spurred the establishment of a new Trust overseen by 7 new Trustees with the dedicated aim of continuing Jean’s legacy and good work for the animals at The Friend Animal Foundation. We have been working very hard on establishing business-approached protocols and procedures that will streamline the monthly expenditure without negatively impacting the animals while enabling us to run the Foundation in a more effective, efficient and self-sustaining manner. By applying for a PVO welfare order number, we are registering as the ONLY No-Kill Shelter in Zimbabwe and hope that this will allow us to source help from International Animal Welfare agencies.
The new Trust has focused on forming an enthusiastic, reliable and hard-working staff contingent as well as attracting a dedicated Management Committee and other volunteers to assist with the day-to-day management and running of The Friend Animal Foundation. We firmly believe that public involvement is crucial in achieving our drive for Public Education about an animal’s basic needs and care in order to overcome some very dire issues currently prevalent throughout Zimbabwe. We encourage volunteers and sympathetic members of the public to get involved in our most basic programmes: – dog walking, puppy socializing, cat/kitten cuddling – and if they want to assist in other areas, we are more than happy to welcome them on board for fund-raising, corporate/personal sponsorship, building and renovations, veterinary aid, food drives, fostering etc.
The Friend Animal Foundation cares for a monthly average of 400 dogs and puppies, 200 cats and kittens and 100 farmyard animals of various shapes and sizes. In order to cover the basic running costs each month, we rely heavily on public support and donations in cash and kind. Unfortunately, this is not a stable form of income and it can have a problematic impact on the ongoing projects, maintenance and repairs that are constantly needed out at the Foundation.
Our Aim As A Team
Our aim is to not only continue, but improve our facility in order to provide sanctuary for the waifs and strays, the unwanted and the surrendered domestic animals of Harare and environs. Furthermore we strive to be the model NO KILL animal shelter in Zimbabwe. However, the single biggest impediment to this end is funding. This being our biggest concern, we are directing most of our efforts to remedy this.