NHS & AMA

NHS & AMA

By Karen Celada

             February is a month of caring at Interamericano. To show this, many events have been taking place, most of them presented by the NHS. This past February, the NHS not only showed care for humans, but also for animals by taking part in the Animal Mistreatment Week, which is intended to economically help La Asociación de Amigos de los Animales (AMA).

             AMA is a private Guatemalan entity built in 1998 by people who are animal lovers. AMA’s mission in Guatemala is to improve the quality of life for animals, without regarding their physical appearance, mental state, or origin. AMA is centered in rescuing abandoned or mistreated dogs and cats that need medical attention and/or a new home. In addition, AMA is also interested in educating the people of Guatemala about the responsibility of possessing pets, as well as the respect and treatment that the animals deserve. AMA wishes to encourage the sterilization of animals to avoid the overpopulation of unwanted pets, so that the amount of abandoned animals that each year is reported to them is minimized.  

             Because all the food, medicine, and medical services that AMA provides to the animals are paid, they need economical aid. To help them, the NHS created the Animal Mistreatment Week which involved an assembly that took place on February 5^th, and the selling of: t-shirts for Q50.00, post-its for Q15.00 (package of 2 designs) and a calendar for Q25.00. Throughout this month, the NHS members were in charge of selling the t-shirts, post-its, and calendars.

             Guatemala is a country with a great diversity of animals. It is very important to take care of them, as NHS president María Fernanda Andreu comments, “Guatemala’s biodiversity is the largest in Central America; the diversity of mammals, reptiles and birds is unique, and for this reason it is extremely important to take care of them. Not only that, but it is also our responsibility to take care of our pets without mistreating them. AMA is an organization that wants to promote the care of animals, that’s why the NHS wished to help them.” Many people would agree with this statement; however, there are those who don’t care about animals, and it is AMA’s desire to awake conscious about the mistreatment of animals.    

AMA- Logo de La Asosiación Amigos de los Animales

www.amigosdelosanimales.org.gt/