Hong Kong teen raises thousands of dollars for stray dog home
Ansh Sahay, 14, raised more than HK$40,000 for Sai Kung Stray Friends through a crowdfunding campaign
For 100 dogs sheltered in Sai Kung, Ansh Sahay may be their last hope.
The 14-year old from India has taken it upon himself to raise funds needed to save the animals – cared for by local non-profit Sai Kung Stray Friends (SKSF) – from homelessness or the possibility of being put down.
In just over a month, he’s raised HK$41,500 for the stray, abandoned, abused, and neglected dogs at the shelter, which faced being shut down in December due to high rents.
If that had happened, 95 per cent of the dogs would likely have been euthanised, according to Sahay.
“That’s unacceptable for us,” he said. “[It’s] very scary to think that all of these dogs would be in danger.”
Sahay had been volunteering at the site for almost a year, going to Sai Kung once a week with a group of classmates to help feed and walk the dogs.
“I’ve fallen in love with these guys, and I love coming here,” he said. “It’s the beauty of bonding with a creature who may not necessarily be as fortunate as I am, or gone through the same experiences as me.”
Naturally, when Sahay learned the shelter was in trouble, he wanted to help.
He began with smaller fund-raising efforts at school, but soon realised bake sales wouldn’t be enough. That’s when he launched a crowdfunding campaign – “Save SKSF” – in early December with a stated goal of raising HK$2 million by early February.
“I realised that the potential of the community is far more powerful than anything I could do by myself,” Sahay said. “Crowdfunding [is] a great way of connecting people from anywhere across the globe to contribute any amount and unite for a particular cause.”
SKSF just secured a four-year lease at their Sai Kung site, but rents will be HK$55,000 a month for the first two years and HK$57,000 a month for latter years, according to SKSF chairwoman Narelle Pamuk.
For the community-funded shelter, total costs can add up to HK$150,000 per month, including two full-time and two part-time staff, food, and medical care.
The need for donations, and particularly sponsors for staff salaries, is even greater now, Pamuk said.
Sahay is determined to push his crowdfunding campaign, however hard it will be, including by raising awareness at his school.
“We’re thankful for every dollar because every dollar counts for something like this,” Sahay said. “I want to do as much as I possibly can.”
In the fundraising process, Sahay says he has learned a lot not only about animal welfare, but about crowdfunding and the difference he can make.
“It’s very empowering,” he said. “I’m just a regular student, I’m doing my studies, I’m doing my GCSEs right now. But I’m able to communicate with people across the globe ... through social media.”
He laughed when some of the shelter’s dogs interrupted his words with barking, and recalled memories with dogs such as Fei Mui, a name that affectionately means “fat girl” in Cantonese.
“There was one day when Fei Mui, [was] curled up in the sofa, and she was being pampered,” he said with a smile. “Another dog Chocco – he’s one of the oldest here – and he was howling because he wanted the attention, so eight students gathered around [him instead], this is one pampered dog.”
Sahay hopes his efforts will make a difference for the dogs he has truly come to love.
“Dogs will be abandoned, neglected, and abused and there’s nothing we can do to stop that,” he said. “All we can do is to change our response to it, and our awareness.”
