QAWS is rising again!
I won’t forget September 3 in a hurry. Here is the reason why… http://www.qatarliving.com/node/687130
The pictures in that thread, which I took that day, were the first images which alerted Qataris and the expatriate community about the extent of that disaster. However, since then, several commitments prevented me from going back there.
I’d been keeping track of QAWS’ progress through different threads on QL. My interest was piqued with a recent discussion, about how a few girls got together to donate money to QAWS. http://www.qatarliving.com/node/1056796
It however quickly degenerated into a mud-slinging free-for-all. This convinced me to pay a visit to QAWS for only the third time in my life. I’m glad I took that journey. Not only are they back on their feet, things are looking highly positive.
The black mood of September, 2009, has gone. People are optimistic about the future. A solid structure is slowly, but surely coming up. But QAWS still need help. It’s a voluntary organisation and I appreciate the people who are sacrificing their time to run it.
Their critics, who talk about transparency, should try to help them achieve it. From what I gather, they’re under severe pressure to even run day-to-day activities. An extra hand is definitely going to help them move forward. And that would prevent further such questions from arising in the future.
Any volunteers ready to put their money where their mouth is? If not, I think its high time people stopped arm-chair criticisms and started appreciating their selfless work.
For many people in Qatar, QAWS is something they’ve heard about, but never seen. Since ‘seeing is believing’, I hope the following pictures will help them get an idea of what QAWS is all about. View on.
hmm...it'nice to see...that u r rising again!!
wish u all the best...!!
sure.. i will . hope i can get der . hav saved d map in my cel fon. wil track it out, and see u guys soon .. tc god bless ya all
We are open between 4pm and 6pm everyday except Wednesdays. Please come down in the afternoon one day so you can meet with the committee members on duty and they can chat to you about how you can help.
Thanks.
hey im in, i wud like to voluteer . but im a workin man, i work so wen ever i ll b free i can come.. is dat ok?
I so wish people would do their homework before they come on here!!!
Look through recent threads....transparency, accountability, open books, finances, running costs - all of these have been discussed very recently.
Step up - do QAWS accounts yourself, we would gladly hand them over!
Take on the shelter for the summer - see how you do....
To the current committee's knowledge, all offers of assistance over the years have been followed up (and there have been many) but none have ever led to anything.
There have been many committee members over the years, maybe it was through someone else. If you do have any leads then please ask for a meeting with them as we are open to any suggestions.
if you don't like the way it is run, then talk to them directly. MAybe they'll turn-over the organization to you. Can you handle it? Or maybe, start your own and show us the way you want it run!
Btw, how transparent do you want it to be? And are they answerable to you? What is your ultimate purpose of making noise? To discredit QAWS and you just want to run it by you?
For someone who says they have lived in Qatar a long time you obviously don't know how things work here. Charities are externally audited and are monitored by the Ministry of Social Affairs. We're hoping that we'll also be regulated by the Animal Resource Department too.
You're not accusing us of anything new. We have broad shoulders and take it all in our stride. We accept we can't please everyone, but luckily 99% of people think QAWS are doing a good thing.
is looking good...
P.s Did you know that QAWS was offered the patronage of a very prominent Sheik a few years ago..? This was organised by a recently arrived volunteer, sadly the organisers of QAWS refused to return phone calls and ultimatley snubbed the offer....exactly why still remains a mystery to this day...there has been speculation but all indications were that they were jealous that someone who had been in Qatar for 5min had succedded where they had failed after years of allegedly trying to secure financial help for the organisation..!
My concern has always been for the poor unfortunate animals of Qatar, I myself have adopted two from QAWS, sadly I wish I could adopt more.
Don't get me wrong I support the idea of QAWS I would just like to see it run more effectively and the organisers held accountable for the finances...if it truely is a volunteer organisation then it should have an open book policy and of course...dare I say it "Transparency" after all if you have nothing to hide then why worry..????
so bog off!!!!!!!!
I'm not exactly new to Qatar I've lived here for many years, I'm just someone who is sick of all the rubbish and self praise people post and thought it was about time someone told the truth about the people behind this organisation....I was once a volunteer myself as were many of my friends we donated thousands of dollars to QAWS over the years and have never seen it spent wisely...I wonder if QAWS got charity status who would be responsible for the finances...??? Yes you are right when you say that QAWS is a volunteer organisation not a business but it needs to be run like a business and there needs to be structure...people need to be held accountable for the thousands of dollars that have simply gone missing over the years while the animals still live in absolute filth.
This obviously touches a raw nerve but the truth needs to be told so that you can bring about positive change and actually be more effective with your finances....otherwise you will do exactly what you've been doing and thats chasing your own tail..!!!
QAWS does a good job with very little - and with a lot of help from kind hearted volunteers. Do I think it's perfect? No. But then neither am I. It is great to see the construction going ahead and the people still contributing despite naysayers.
However, perhaps I'm doing stupidpeopleinqatar a disservice and they are working hard and spending time and money on helping animals too?
Welcome to QL, new user, obvioulsy someone who has simply joined QL to start a fight (again) about QAWS. We at QAWS accept that we cannot please all of the people all of the time and posts like yours are "the nature of the beast" in animal welfare.
NB: QAWS cannot be a recognised business, everyone at QAWS is there on a volountary basis striving to achieve charitable status. (We are getting there, at last). We NEVER turn away help !!!
Please move swiftly along......you are ultimately affecting the animals with this rubbish.
For all those old hands that have been in Qatar for some time you might remember the endless charity events, donations and endless hours of volunteer work many hundreds if not thousands of people have put into the QAWS organisation...and they've only just got their S*@#T together now....sorry but the organisation is a long time running joke in Qatar...the people behind QAWS are not business people they might think they are but they're simply not...they have consistantly missed every single opportunity over the years to get their organisation up and out of the muck and become a respectable charity and a recognised business....and you know why...??? Because they're too busy fighting amongst themselves and upsetting kind hearted volunteers who give up their time freely and willingly to help the abandoned animals....seriously the organisers of QAWS need to stop fighting amongst themselves swollow their pride and allow other people to help the organisation and ultimatley the animals ....after all they're the ones without the voice...who will speak for them..??
There's a location map at www.qaws.org along with our opening hours etc.
We're about 10 minutes from Villaggio.
hey chelsea, where is dis place? wats d exact location of dis place?
YOUR BUDGET RANGE WOULD BE FROM 2000 TO 4000; YOU WILL GET FULLY FURNISHED.
Great! Thanks for the great informative post and your effort.
I think the above article is valuable for all concerned people. For me the Informations are really really useful. I've Bookmarked this page for future reference.
Thank you
Robin Jokes
Greeker, you didn't put the pic of Miskeena here that you took:-)
I love it, am sure Chelsea will too:-)
Xena ...its so obvious Greeker is getting pulled around...lol
I am sure Greeker kept you at heel the whole time he walked you;-P
UK you again did it....you have no respect for animals ....calling them donkey et all....phew!!!
Xena you discussing me here?....lol....you didnt have to announce it to the whole world....lol
Jack could be mistaken for a donkey... he's almost as big;-P
Jack I thought the donkeys name was bella if I not mistaken? j/k
As usual, you put clarity into the situation.... Your pics are wonderful:-)
Glad you had fun down at the farm yesterday... Hope to see you again soon so you can walk Jack again;-p
Good luck and all the best for QAWS
I think if we care we need to help with sustainability in mind and show that we care instead just looking at pictures roll up your sleeves and do something.
The pictures helped for having an idea of what QAWS is all about, Nice post.
very soon!
Come down and spend some time with Sophie (the dalmatian) and Buddy (our dalmatian mix). That'll make you feel a little better.
Plus no-one can feel sad after 10 minutes with the 20 puppies in the puppy-cabin :D
I am so pleased things are starting to get back on track for all concerned, its great news :-)
back home.
That looks good!!!!!
Aww...Bella :)
Nice post, Greeker
Thank you once again for the kind comments and awesome photos - we can't believe how fast the build is going! Just 5 days ago the temporary shelter was still there and full of dogs!!