SLOVENIA'S 5 CORE VALUES

Many of them ended up poisoned or shot, and at the time she did not know of any shelter nearby, or even one existed.

A few years later, after returning to Slovenia, she came across Morocco Animal Aid on Instagram and Lucy, an Australian who was doing exactly what was lacking at the time: caring for injured animals. The shelter has recently changed its name to Refuge Metkub and is dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and adopting animals in the Moroccan region, 20 kilometres north of Agadir. They have around 600 animals in their shelter; mostly dogs and cats, but also donkeys and horses. They help to care for local street animals and also for the community itself, as until recently they ran the Trap Neuter Vaccinate Release (TNVR) programme NoMad Dog, helping to curb rabies in the area. Unfortunately, the programme had to be suspended due to a constant lack of funds

"When my friends and I visited Morocco again in 2018, we donated to the shelter and got to know their work a little better. The situation was honestly heartbreaking, but on the other hand so inspiring that I left the shelter convinced that I would work for them one day. I had no plans to move to Morocco, but I felt that the right opportunity was about to present itself." In 2021, she was recruited as a social media manager and eventually even took on managerial duties. She was an active member of the team for 2.5 years.

Even when she wasn't working for them, she was fundraising for them. "Charity yoga classes, collecting expired first aid kits, donating funds raised from T-shirt sales, sharing dog stories and fundraising. Every now and then I help out with something I can do from home, like preparing documents or something," says Katarina.

Unfortunately, they are in a rather difficult situation at the moment. The number of animals in need of help is increasing, as is the number of animals in the shelter. "Unfortunately, due to the lack of funds, in addition to the temporary suspension of the TNVR programme, they have also had to decide to close the shelter in the sense that they can no longer accept new cases, although they are still helping as best they can. At the moment, they are only funding the most basic things. The cost of running the shelter on a day-to-day basis, which includes basic food, rent for the premises, minimum wages for a few staff members and basic medicines, is already enormous. 

There is no financial support from the State. All funding is channelled through individual project supporters, with occasional grants from abroad." Katarina says there are other people who help remotely - some of them are employed, others volunteer. "Any help they can get, especially now, really comes in handy - both digitally and on site. They are always happy to lend a hand or help remotely!"

Klavdija Rupar Vuga