GAVA: An initiative for the voiceless

Imagine your best friend, your dog or cat, left neglected, injured, and without food or shelter for days. This is the reality for thousands of street dogs and other animals in Nepal.

These loyal, loving creatures are neglected and forced to live in precarious conditions without anyone to care for them. Many yet are abused, tortured and left to die on the streets, and some are even killed inhumanely. That is where we intend to fill the gap of care and compassion. At Karnor, our social initiatives extend beyond human society. Starting around 2013, the Karnor staff and owners started the GAVA initiative to care for injured and sick animals. Since then, with the help of compassionate volunteers and donors, we have been able to provide food for street dogs and other animals, spay and neuter stray dogs, and even helped provide chemotherapy for cancer-stricken animals.

During the pandemic, the lockdowns resulted in major reduction of food sources for strays due to restaurant and store closures, so the Gava volunteers took extra measures to feed the stray dogs that were going hungry.

Today, GAVA is a registered non-profit, self-funded and supported by donors and run by our hardworking staff team from Karnor. We will strive to provide regular updates to the best of our ability through both social media and our website. Thank you to everyone who continues to make this possible. Namaste and Tashi Delek

Special thanks to Palden for your tireless work in this initiative, and Basanta and Karma for ensuring GAVA’s operation runs smoothly.