Sri Lanka has been hit by extreme weather, bringing the worst flooding in decades. One of the most severely affected areas is Trincomalee, a special place on the northeast coast which we visited in May.

Whilst there, we were lucky enough to stay with Prashanth, a young man who has devoted the entirety of his life to animal welfare. As well as keeping over 10 dogs and 20 cats at his own property (all found on the street and typically nursed back from severe injuries), Prashanth single-handedly feeds and cares for the innumerable stray dogs and cats that are abandoned and left to die in the forest in his local area. Whilst the south coast of Sri Lanka has multiple animal rescues and charities, the east coast has none. This is because the south coast has a much larger, well-established tourism industry, and the influence/pressure of Western visitors has led to better animal welfare. This does NOT exist in Trincomalee.

Each day, we watched Prashanth prepare huge pots of rice and fish which he then transported via scooter to the forest - something he does every single day. When he finds injured animals, he takes a 4 hour taxi ride to the nearest animal hospital for surgeries, always paying out of his own pocket. I have personally received images and videos of some of the horrific states he frequently finds animals in. He receives no support from his community as street dogs/cats are typically viewed as vermin, so relies solely on the funds generated from the lovely homestay he has set up on Booking.com and runs himself. You can see his property here and read the numerous fantastic testimonies about Prashanth and his work: https://www.booking.com/Share-jiyZTTy

After seeing the news of the flooding, we reached out to Prashanth and he told us he was struggling alone with the animals, unable to get the food and medicine he needs. Prashanth’s home and area was flooded during the cyclone, as were many other homes in Trinco. Whilst all affected families need and deserve support during this time, we would like to ask any fellow animal lovers who are able to donate to help us get Prashanth the support he needs so desperately right now. We have witnessed firsthand just how many animal lives rest in his care, and any donations would go directly to helping the cats and dogs who now more than ever will need his help. If Prashanth isn’t able to support them, there is genuinely no one else who will. It is the off-season on the east coast of Sri Lanka until May/June, and therefore there are many months before Prashanth will have visitors again. If you can spare anything to help him feed and provide medicine for the animals, we would be so grateful.

We genuinely cannot express how selfless and kind this man is. When we asked him what his motivation was to do this despite the troubles it brings him (both financially and the ostracisation from his community) he explained that to him it was not a choice, simply what he had to do for the animals. During COVID, when Prashanth had no visitors, he sold almost all of his possessions (his laptop, scooters, jewellery) in order to keep feeding the animals. When staying with him we celebrated his birthday, and his idea of a birthday gift was to buy chicken for the animals as a special treat. Meeting Prashanth was an extremely enlightening, humbling, and special moment and we are so glad to know such a dedicated and selfless human.

Thank you for any and all support ❤️

PLEASE NOTE: Sri Lanka is not a supported country on this platform and therefore the money will be deposited into my Wise bank account. I will then transfer the entirety of the donations to Prashanth.