In Colombia, there are thousands of dogs, cats, donkeys, horses, and birds abandoned and abused. Government programmes are limited and their support is not enough to provide any meaningful support and shelter for the animals.

I've decided to take on a new challenge – running my first-ever 10k at 52– to raise awareness and crucial funding for the abandoned animals in my city, Cartagena, Colombia. The run is this Saturday, May 4th, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Cartagena is a city located in the Caribbean. Temperatures year around are 33 degrees celsius. It is very hot and humid. conditions for street animals are awful.

Local gangs harm abandoned animals for fun. Donkeys and horses work day and night transporting cargo and people, usually going for long hours without any food or water.

Abandoned dogs and cats have no place to go and usually are mistreated on the streets. Because some families are displaced or very poor, they sometimes are forced to leave their animals behind or worse even, they end up having to kill their own pets when they cannot feed them.

In this context, the Fundacion FRAD (Rescate Animales Desamparados) provides veterinarian care, shelter, food, adoption services for dogs, cats, birds, donkeys, horses, and other animal species that are abandoned. The shelter operates beyond capacity (around 500 animals).

Sometimes, the shelter has to refuse accepting more animals because they do not have the resources to help them. Even in those cases, animals are thrown over the fence overnight or left in boxes at the door.

Because the government offers no support, the shelter operates with private donations. There is no water and sanitation in the neighbourhood. They have to purchase water from water trucks once a week.

It is always challenging to finance the food, water, and medicine, while at the same time paying for utilities, maintenance, and the staff servicing the animals.

Your generous contributions will directly impact the lives of these abandoned animals by:

• Providing food and water for one year

• Supplying essential medicines

• Funding repairs for animal facilities

• Supporting neutering and spaying campaigns for street animals

By donating today, your generosity has the power to bettering the lives of hundreds of abandoned animals.

Thank you so much for your help and support!

Best wishes to all, Dario