"Charity begins at home" they say. Sometimes it's not so. Some children have witnessed animal cruelty in front of their very eyes by elder siblings or parents. Some have also seen it being done by elder mates. Some parents don't know what the word "social education" means, let alone showing their children what is wrong or what is right - and so schools need to do their best to deliver the messages.
I have an idea that's been buzzing in my head for years. Can't we combine education together with care for animals? Why doesn't each class from every primary and secondary school from each village, sponsor a stray animal at one of the sanctuaries? Every child could maybe donate one or two euros each and the whole class would have their own "pet" which would send photos and letters to the class. Then the exciting part! Maybe once every two months or so, a volunteer or worker from the organisation would bring over a (or the) dog and cat to the school and maybe spend 30 minutes giving tips to the kids in each class on how to take care of the animal and let them ask questions. Maybe even give them a "quiz" which would drill in certain ideas like "no to cruelty". After all, we do want education for life rather than just the old books.
Encouraging companies to sponsor a dog or cat at one of the sanctuaries would be an excellent idea. Maybe sections in a factory could pool in to sponsor a dog - no real fee but just a donation. Let them do it once a year. It would definitely give the employers a sense of family at work.
What about the homes for the elderly? I'm sure that most people at these homes miss their old pets - why not have a friendly dog or cat visit maybe once a week from sanctuaries and the home could give them a donation in return? Don't these homes know that animals are therapeutic? Elderly people are still people despite their wrinkles and sometimes their memory loss, and having a visiting friend every now and then would boost their morale. Obviously there should be safety measures and whatever I'm suggesting should be studied according to each home.
What about young delinquents? Rather than giving them a suspended sentence which will stain their police conduct, why not give a temporary one which will be removed if they do some community service at animal sanctuaries and if they behave well? There are tons of stories abroad where young people who had gone astray were given the chance to experience the love that these animals give to get them back on the right track. Why not give them a chance to not only help themselves but society and these animals? It would be "hitting two birds with one stone" (I didn't mean that literally).
My hope is that maybe some form of authority or member of these sanctuaries would forward these ideas and maybe they'd be put into practice. I'm sure that we'd all benefit - especially our Animal Friends.