Dogs tossed into cave pit outside of Addis Ababa saved from death
By Christy Crabtree
The thought of anyone throwing an animal into a pit to die would seem barbaric and ancient but in Ethiopia, in a cave outside of Addis Ababa, it has been a common occurrence, until now.
Dr. Anteneh Roba, President of The Amsale Gessesse Memorial Foundation was notified by the Homeless Animal Protection Society of Ethiopia (HAPS) of the cave and what it was being used for. People were tossing dogs into the pit, many of them mothers with their babies, to die a horrible death. Over 6,000 animals have died in the pit.
Immediately Dr. Roba and his foundation stepped in and working together with HAPS were able to pull four dogs from the pit, an obstacle in itself due to the fact they had to raise the dogs out of the pit and figure out how to maneuver in the cave. After eight long days, the dogs were rescued and the event was televised nationwide.
Countless lives were saved that day because in response to the situation, The Amsale Gessesse Memorial Foundation and HAPS both petitioned the government to close the cave. After the foundation agreed to foot the bill for all expenses in closing the cave with HAPS supervising the closing, the cave was finally shut down for good.
As for the four dogs, it is currently in the works to bring them to Houston, TX but of course funding is a necessity in order to do this. Due to a lack of funds, HAPS is closing their doors and can no longer house the dogs and Dr. Roba is reaching out to other animal lovers to help bring them home.
A Foundation is Born The Amsale Gessesse Memorial Foundation was created by Dr. Roba along with his cousin in memory of a very special person. States Dr. Roba, “Our organization is called The Amsale Gessesse Memorial Foundation. It was created in July 2006 by myself and my cousin Seble Nebiyeloul dedicated to the memory of my mother and her aunt. We are a 501(C)3 foundation dedicated to promoting human rights and animal rights.” Dr. Roba, a US citizen, is originally from Ethiopia. He resides in Houston, TX.
The cave is just one of many incidents that Dr. Roba and his group investigate to help protect the animals of Ethiopia. Often times what they find is disheartening but even with such obstacles in their way, the foundation and those that work with them, are tireless fighters for the welfare of the animals. According to Dr. Roba, “In April of 2007 I went back to Ethiopia to find out about the wildlife situation in my native country, while there I was confronted with an overwhelming crisis namely the huge numbers of homeless dogs who are, among other nonhuman animals, the most mistreated, abused, neglected sentient beings in Ethiopia. Their suffering so bothered me, a day does not go by that I don't think of them. I saw so many hungry sick, neglected dogs it was stupefying.”
Their mission is to become a vehicle for change, a model for those in Ethiopia and other countries so that they can teach and spread the word about animal welfare and for those they teach to return to their own countries and continue to pass on the mission.
“What my organization would like to do is create a state of the art spay/neuter clinic/hospital with 6 surgery rooms, an educational center, a center for community outreach and teaching center, a temporary shelter that can accommodate 50 to 60 dogs with a holding area for at least 10 to 20 dogs. We want it to be the best available in Africa so that we can have people from other African countries come and train to do procedures but also to teach them about animal welfare. So when they go back to their respective countries they can spread the word and help their own nonhuman animals.”
Dr. Roba has also joined forces with British singer/songwriter Maria Daines. Their partnership has produced a musical dedication by Maria. Says Dr. Roba, “A few weeks ago I communicated with Maria Daines the British singer/songwriter whose music was played at the end of the LA conference, I sent her pictures of abused animals mostly of abused dogs in my country. She was so moved by the pictures that she decided to write a song for us (Ethiopian dogs) called ' One Small Dog ' a beautiful but sad song that is downloadable at our website
http://www.amsalefoundation.org/ for a donation of 2 dollars.”
The Future of the Foundation It is incredible that in the relatively short life of The Amsale Gessesse Memorial Fund that they have been able to accomplish so much which can only be credited to the determination and courage of Dr. Roba, Seble and all those they’ve worked with to reach so many. And they are still going strong. Dr. Roba details what is coming up in their future. “To this end we have already secured the help of veterinarians in the USA who would go to Ethiopia for a couple of weeks at a time to teach. We have been promised by the mayor of Addis Ababa we would be given land to build the facility on. We have the man power already in place in the city. We have already contracted an architectural engineering firm to do the work. The architectural drawing will be created shortly. What is left is to secure the funding necessary to make it reality.”
Funds are in dire need and in order for HAPS and The Amsale Gessesse Memorial Foundation to continue their work, donations are needed. Unfortunately HAPS has already begun plans to shut their doors due to lack of funds. Dr. Roba is fighting to save HAPS and to get more funding so their much needed work can continue. While this type of situation would cause most to give up, it is not the case for Dr. Roba and his group. They are determined to overcome this obstacle, as they have so many others, and with the help of the world’s patrons, it can be accomplished.
Photo Credit: Thanks so much to Dr. Roba for this incredible picture. The picture is of the four dogs, rescued from the cave after being given some much needed TLC. To help bring them home please visit The Amsale Gessesse Memorial Foundation website. How You Can Help For more information or if you would like to donate to The Amsale Gessesse Memorial Foundation please visit their website at
http://www.amsalefoundation.org/.
To view Maria Daines website please visit
http://www.maria-daines.com/home.htmlTo view the HAPS website please visit
http://www.haps-eth.org.et/