Saturday, December 29, 2018

¡Felices Fiestas!


There is a famous saying,
 “Let’s be realists and do the impossible” - Che Guevara
(Seamos realistas y hagamos lo imposible)

As this year draws to a close the Spanky Project has entered our 15th year of 
HELPING CUBANS HELP THEIR ANIMALS.
The Spanky Project is not one, two or ten people .. it is all of us.

It has been a long road and we thank each and every one of you who have been on this path with us.

Each day is a struggle. 
Our rewards come in the faces of the caregivers whose animals we have treated
and messages like the following.
-translated from spanish-

"Hello, I'm Cuban, through a friend who was part of the wonderful project in Trinidad Cuba I found out about Spanky Project, which it has touched my heart so strong and it has brought so many tears from my eyes.

I thought this could be impossible and by reading "let's be realistic and do the impossible" and see all the pictures and what they have done has inspired me so much.

Please let me know how I can help you and be part of you.
 God bless you all and my eternal gratitude for what you have done in my country with the animals. 
We need many people like you in this world."
As the year come to an end we have wonderful memories of all those precious creatures we have helped in so many ways.
Please join the Spanky Project, with your donation, so together we can help many more in 2019.

“Seamos realistas y hagamos lo imposible”
Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!


Wednesday, December 26, 2018

An Expo ... 15 Years In The Making

On December 14 we attended a very special event in our history.
It was the inauguration of ...
"Helping Cubans Help Their Animals - since 2003"
An Exposition 15 Years In The Making"

This exposition would not have been assembled without the love and talents of ...
Lianet Cedeño Vázquez
and
Noris Arlena
We were given the gallery space of our coordinating Cuba structure to produce this work.
Thanks go to the Oficina del Historidaor ciudad de la Habana
and
SCPCMA
Sociedad Civil Comunidad, Patrimonio y Medio Ambiente.


Seven TV monitors were available to tell our story.


We had some handouts and even a guest book for comments

Words do not have sufficient meaning for the feeling 
when I saw Spanky on the first monitor from the street.

“one moment can change a day, one day can change a life and one life can change the world”

Martha Perez president of SCPCMA opened the Expo.
I had the opportunity to say a few words.

It was such a joy to share this occasion with the Spanky Team friends and collaborators.
Sharing this were friends from the Consejo Cientifico Veterinario de Cuba (CCVC)
The CCVC was the first Cuban structure with which we signed an agreement.
That dates back to 2006.
In 2016 they made me a Miembro de Honor
Dra Beatriz Hugues Presidenta Sociedad Cubana de Clínica y Cirugía Veterinaria.
 Dra Isabel Cabazas  Vicepresidenta del CCVC 

Each slide show on the TV monitors was supported by a descriptive poster.

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle,
and the life of the single candle will not be shortened." -Buddha

"First contact by the founder Terry Shewchuk was made with Rafael Oliver.
He made the introduction to a group holding mobile weekend sterilization campañas in various communities.
They would typically sterilize 30 dogs a day.
The Spanky Project's goal was to take surgeries off the kitchen tables and back into the veterinary clinics. Collaboration with Cuban structure was key in making this a reality.
All Spanky Project services are provided free to the public. Activities like mass deparasitizations improve the health of animals and the communities in which they live.
ProFauna in the community.
Each year in February Spanky Project arrives with it's international team.
Typically we will sterilize 300 cats/dogs
Each September we conduct a mass sterilization staffed by an all Cuban team.
Cuban Veterinary Students play a huge role in these campañas.
We are so happy that as they graduate as Veterinarians they come back to work with us.
Sterilization campaigns held in Havana and other locations.

The Expos finishes with a news report from one of our visits  to The Agrarian University of Havana "Fructuoso Rodríguez Pérez" and a
campaña held with students.


We have come a long way in 15 years.
My closing words at the opening were...
"The Spanky Project is not one or two people. 
The Spanky Project is all of us"

Please join us

Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!
Please consider setting up a monthly donation of $15
 to celebrate our 
15 years of helping Cuban help their animals.
That would sponsor six sterilization in a year.