By Ryvann Soerohardjo,YES 2014-2015, Suriname, hosted by ASSE in Williamsville, NY

My passion to help homeless and vulnerable animals started during my YES year in the U.S. My host family had three beautiful dogs who always seemed happy to be around people who genuinely cared for them. The amazing feeling of being around them gave birth to my desire to help homeless animals in my country, Suriname. I wanted to make a change. 

When I arrived back home, I gathered my fellow alumni and, together, we organized a week-long community service project at a local animal shelter. Every day, two alumni went to the animal shelter to feed the dogs, clean up their stalls, bathe them, and walk them. We realized that, like humans, animals have feelings, too. They need love just like we do. This also made me appreciate the people who work at the animal shelter every single day without getting paid for their hard work. They do this just because they share the same idea as me: "Animals all over the world should be treated with lots of love and care."

We are planning to do a larger project with this animal shelter to decrease the number of homeless animals in our community. We are looking forward to more alumni participation in order to make this project as effective as possible. With your support for this cause, we can make this a global project and find loving homes for as many animals as possible!