Blog

Operation Hand Wash Against Ebola

Sep 10

By Morris Darbo

My area is the hardest hit area presently in the country. Over half of the death rate in Liberia is happening in Lofa County where I live. Lots of people have died in Lofa county due to Ebola and continue to die. Some friends that I personally knew have died with their entire families. Some children have become orphans due to the virus.

My family, our volunteers and their families and I are all well and following the preventive measures.

Awareness education is very cardinal and the provision of buckets, soap, sanitizers, chlorine and clora are highly needed in the villages.

We have been doing some awareness but need to do more in the villages where lots of organizations can’t go due to the deplorable road condition.

If we can do that in the villages where we have been working, it will be a life saving approach. We can do this along with the rabies prevention program.

95% of the population in Lofa county live on subsistence farming. They live below 1 dollar per day. The government of Liberia said that washing of hands with clora, chlorine and water is very vital in preventing the virus. 65 percentage of the people live in remote communities that are not easily accessible to car. Few organizations have been distributing buckets and chlorine in communities where car can easily go. There has been no awareness and distribution of those items in the remote communities where car can not reach.

Due to the high poverty rate, people can not afford to buy those items for themselves. We want to reach to remote communities. Each bucket cost 10 USD, clora is 3 USD and soap is 0.45 USD. LAWCS has a bike to travel in those communities. Gas and engine oil will be needed. Meals for volunteers while on the field.

Please donate $2 to help us buy buckets, soap and bleach and to educate the poorest most marginalized people about basic sanitation and disinfection.

International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge 2014

Jun 23

DURATION: March 3, to May 23, 2014

SPONSOR: Doggone Safe Canada

DATE OF SUBMISSION: May 26, 2014

NUMBER OF BENEFICIARIES: 13,949

Doggone Safe Canada is a strong partner to the Liberia Animal Welfare & Conservation Society. Through materials and monetary support from Doggone Safe Canada, the Liberia Animal Welfare & Conservation Society has a sustainable dog bite prevention program established in 10 schools and an outreach program in additional 11 schools.

Dog bite prevention education is cardinal in rebuilding a country- Liberia where nearly 85% of the population lives below USD 1 dollar per day and the means of accessing anti- human rabies vaccine is nearly impossible. Dogs are part of the family circle but suffer as the result of rabies and the dog meat trade. When there is an outbreak of rabies, killing has been the only easy method used to wipe out the disease. This method failed to eliminate or reduce the spread of the deadly and neglected disease. In partnership with Doggone Safe Canada, the Liberia Animal Welfare & Conservation Society introduced the dog bite prevention program in various communities and schools in Lofa County, Liberia targeting mainly children- the main victims of dog bite. The program is making an impressive improvement in the fight against the spread of rabies and the killing of dogs as the mean of curtailing the spread of rabies. Today, as the result of LAWCS intervention, dog bite incidence are drastically reduced in the communities where LAWCS is working and people continue to live happily with their dogs. Read More…

LAWCS Conference Presentation

Jan 25

Lawcs presentation at the conference from MorrisDarbo

The Vegan Outreach Program

Dec 20

Donor: FARM`s Sabina Fund
Duration: November 1- 30, 2013.
Amount: USD 500.00
Date of Report: December 5, 2013

About LAWCS

Efforts aimed at creating an Animal Welfare and Conservation Society in Liberia started in 2000 when the founder, Mr. Morris Darbo and some concerned animal lovers at the local community level began to campaign against the lack of care for domestic animals. It was observed at that time the number of stray dogs in the streets had increased at an alarming rate, with most Liberians referring to the dogs as “CITIZENS“. It was also observed at that time that wildlife were over harvested due to the bush meat trade as an important source of meat protein and income to local and national economies and their habitat was destroyed due to logging. The campaign methodology to address the stray dogs’ situations consisted of outreach visits to a number of pet owners and residents in Monrovia and other parts of the country. The campaign methodology also extended in various communities educating local community people about the importance of wildlife and the forests to the country. These efforts set into motion, the process that led to the establishment of the Liberia Animal Welfare and Conservation Society (LAWCS) in late 2001. The society was subsequently registered and accredited under the laws of Liberia as a non-governmental organization in 2004.

Report on Rabies Education and Prevention 2013

Oct 07

DURATION: AUGUST 1 TO SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

SPONSOR: GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR RABIES CONTROL

DATE OF SUBMISSION: OCTOBER 7, 2013

The Liberia Animal Welfare and Conservation Society (LAWCS) is grateful to Global Alliance for Rabies Control for funding the printing of posters and flyers which were used to educate community people and school children in Voinjama District about rabies education and prevention.

International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge 2013

Aug 23

The Liberia Animal Welfare and Conservation Society (LAWCS) is a locally based animal welfare organization established in 2000 and legally registered with the government of Liberia in 2004. LAWCS renewed its legal status with the government of Liberia on January 3, 2012.

The vision of LAWCS is to create a society where the welfare of all forms of nature matter. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”.

Liberia is one of the countries that does not provide rabies vaccine to dogs and anti-rabies vaccine to humans. Dogs are the main carriers and transmitters of rabies in Liberia. Children have been the main victims of dog bite. In partnership with a Canadian based organization, Doggone Safe, LAWCS has been actively involved in dog bite prevention education in various schools in Lofa County using “Be a Tree“ dog bite prevention program.

From April to May, 2013, LAWCS` volunteers visited and inspired 10,076 school children in 19 schools.

Dog Bite Prevention Challenge 2012

Oct 29

morris1 Dog bite has been a serious concern in Foya District since the end of the war in 2003. In 2008, there was a mass killing of dogs in Foya as means of curtailing the spread of rabies and addressing the issue of dog bite in the District. This method failed to eliminate the spread of rabies or even significantly reduce dog bite cases in the district. Foya District is bordering with Guinea and Sierra Leone. There has always been an influx of unvaccinated dogs from those countries. The presence of large number of strange dogs in the districts has also been a threat in controlling dog bite.

Anti-Pet Eating Campaign: 2012 Activity Report

Apr 03

donteat4 The Liberia Animal Welfare and Conservation Society (LAWCS) is a locally based animal welfare organization established in 2000 and legally registered with the government of Liberia in 2004. LAWCS renewed its legal status with the government of Liberia on January 3, 2012.

The overall aim of LAWCS is to contribute to the conservation of nature by promoting the well being of animals, humans and the environment, thus fostering the ideals of the animal welfare movement and conservation of nature in Liberia.

The vision of LAWCS is to create a society where the welfare of all forms of nature matter.

World Rabies Day 2011

Oct 14

rabies12 The Liberia Animal Welfare Society is a local community based animal welfare organization registered with the government of Liberia in 2004 with the aim of promoting a peaceful society where both animals and humans can live in as companions.
In partnership with a non-profit organization- Doggone Safe, LAWS was able to celebration this year World Rabies Day. This year World Rabies Day celebration focused on dog bite prevention among children. Little is known about this deadly and neglected disease in Liberia. Educating school children about this disease and how to prevent it, helps to spread the information in various communities in Liberia.

Campaign Against Pet Eating

Jun 10

donteat1 Liberia is home to over millions of companion animals. Animal Welfare in Liberia is an important issue though usually overshadowed by other issues deemed as of more priority toward the development of post war Liberia. Animal Welfare in Liberia is a major challenge; cruelty to animals is very rampant. 80% of Liberians raise pets. 75% of the numbers eat pets. The process use in killing these pets is un-ethical and inhumane. Dogs and cats are kill through beating and strangling. These acts are very rampant in all parts of the country.

One major obstacle to animal welfare in Liberia is lack of awareness education to discourage people from eating pets, lack of supportive legislations. The Liberia Animal Welfare Society is currently using educational program to discourage people from eating pets. LAWS is always calling the compassions of people and encouraging people to give up eating cat and dog meat voluntarily. However, we don’t believe eating the meat of cats and dogs can be totally eradicated automatically. But, we believe that encouraging people to say No to cat and dog meat is an influential animal protection campaign that will gradually ends dog and cat eating.

Key messages: