We rarely get to meet people who use their voice in the face of injustice and actually do something about it. Even with tremendous compassion and empathy, hardly any of us do much when it comes to making a lasting change. It took a woman of substance to change the face of animal welfare in Pakistan. Ayesha Chundrigar, Founder of ACF Animal Rescue puts those thoughts to action by redefining what it means to promote animal wellbeing. She has proven herself as one of those rare gems who has made a powerful impact on a mass scale by developing the country’s first and largest animal rescue service for abandoned, abused, and neglected animals. Hoping to create a more tolerant and empathetic society, Chundrigar and the ACF team are constantly innovating and coming up with the best ideas to help animals across the country. Animal welfare has been a long-standing issue in Pakistan with little to no efforts made to change their situation, but thanks to this unsung hero, things might be looking up!
Ayesha Chundrigar is a Pakistani Social entrepreneur, Humanistic Psychotherapist, and Journalist. She also holds 3 degrees from the UK which she completed with honors and distinctions. Her undergraduate degree was a Double Major in English Literature and Philosophy followed by a Master’s in Arts in International Journalism (Broadcast) and a Diploma in Humanistic Psychotherapy and Counselling. In 2013, she founded the Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation, a nonprofit animal rescue organization based in Karachi, and has consistently worked on its progress ever since. After taking over an existing, non-functional shelter with the aim of helping stray animals, ACF has been providing their service to injured or abused street animals across the city. Once they are rescued, the animals are then taken to the sanctuary where they are provided with shelter, medical treatment, and food. Now, in 2021, the sanctuary houses over 600 animals at any given time and consistently rescues between 9-15 animals daily via its rescue service. To date, ACF has rescued and rehabilitated almost 7,000 animals.
Chundrigar aims to provide a voice to the voiceless while advocating kindness towards animals and helping people understand the importance of animal welfare. Therefore, her first objective of work dealt with saving stray animals, who are often severely neglected in our society. Her animal rescue mission also includes setting up several donkey camps every week, where donkeys are provided with free medical treatment and food. The rescued stray and injured animals are given medical aid and rehabilitated to live out their natural lives happily. Most recently, Ayesha Chundrigar has helped rehabilitate several monkeys from brutal conditions and has set up a Mobile Van clinic to help street animals in Karachi. The Mobile Clinic will primarily be dedicated to donkey medical camps and rabies vaccination/TNR of dogs.
Ayesha Chundrigar has been rescuing animals since the age of 5, ranging from colored baby chicks to birds sold in claustrophobic tiny cages to set them free, to abused and injured dogs, cats, goats, cows, and donkeys. Today, in 2021, her passion for rooting for the underdog remains prevalent as she continues to use her voice for all animals and provides them with the best possible care at the ACF sanctuary. Making her cause known, Ayesha Chundrigar is definitely a force to be reckoned with!
