Global Animal Welfare - The Beginning

Ushahidi
Jun 1, 2012

[Guest post by Brad Anthony, Founder and CEO of Global Animal Welfare] When I began building globalanimalwelfare.org I had a search image of what I needed to help the world help protect animals and our environment. Fast, accessible solutions that everyone could use, regardless of their location and technological circumstances. I spent months researching and then destiny intervened. The day I stumbled across Ushahidi, I knew I was home. Fast forward a year later and my organization is ready to publicly launch our first of many global endangered species protection campaigns; healthy local food sourcing resources and even a companion animal emergency lost and found alerts service. Our public facing deployment will be a central component of a new worldwide hub for the Global Rhino Protection Coalition, where we will aggregate, curate and provide game changing tools to concerned citizens and rhino conservation groups and where we will, in perpetuity, coordinate a synchronized protection campaign on a scale never before attempted by any one organization. I am an over achiever by nature; but I may have found my match in this brilliant software platform that I can grow into while adding dozens of innovative campaigns through it. OpRhino There are thousands upon thousands of animal and environmental protection groups around the world which together make up one of the largest disparate lobby groups in the history of mankind. If only they talked to each other our ethical and environmental stories would be much different that they are today. It is my dream to connect them all ? to end the threats to our endangered species and ecosystems and change the rules of engagement for the sake of all animals in our society. Last year I began an adventure in the building of my non-profit group. This year I'm going mobile to take Ushahidi on my travels and create innovative new public engagement opportunities for diverse animal, ecology and conservation groups worldwide. I'm a biologist. Author. Photographer. Black Belt. And now committed Ushahidi social benefit philanthropist. I hope you'll join me on this wild adventure for the common good. Rhino sleeping (Blind Rhino, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (Nairobi, Kenya). Photo by Heather Leson) [Ed. Note: Brad and his team have been active in our community for a year. It is amazing to watch the progression from idea to deployment to full project plan. We are constantly humbled by their efforts to affect change in the world. Thank you.]