Changing Little Lives - Purabi Patra, AWTE

“I am an MBA in marketing, and I was in Delhi as an assistant professor for 8-9 years. I left my job to start something in Bhubaneswar for animals. Though I was always fond of them, but I had never thought of coming into the field to actively do something for them. But, when I saw that there was nothing in the town for distressed animals, and no one could be contacted in case of an emergency, I was moved to do something by myself.

 

Later, I went to Delhi because there are many animal welfare NGOs there and through social media, I had contacted them. Though at that time I had not left my job, I used to volunteer in those NGOs. I got some valuable experience there, and during the end of 2015, I moved back to BBSR and started my own animal welfare NGO to rescue animals.

 

Now we have around 150 animals staying with us, including a few paraplegic ones. We do rescue missions, on spot treatment on roads, awareness campaigns, feeding drives, vaccination drives, and cruelty intervention as well. We seek legal actions for these beautiful creatures. Several students come in their free time and take care of animals and we have an active team of around 20 people taking care of dogs, cats, monkeys, camels, goats and birds.

 My parents wanted me to settle down with a family and a job, and when I decided to leave my job and start the NGO, they were not very happy. Eventually, when they saw my work, they started supporting me and things started falling into place.

 

I was motivated to start this NGO when I could no longer see the cruelty towards these mute beings, and I want the people of our community to bear a similar compassion, if not more. Since these animals can’t help themselves or speak for themselves, I’d request our people to atleast contact someone who can help them, and not ignore them in their time of pain. We call ourselves the supreme creation of God, but if we cannot be empathetic towards these species, our superiority is a mere waste.” – Purabi Patra.