Friday, December 10, 2010

It's Christmas Time - what a year its been!

Welcome, Kia Ora, Mālō ē lelei, Fakalofa lahi atu

There is no better time of year than Christmas to reflect on the year that is about to pass and look positively to what awaits us all in the new year.

2010 has been an amazing year for South Pacific Animal Welfare. In just one year, we have achieved remarkable milestones. In most people's eyes, we have achieved the impossible. Due to the level of dedicated support around us we have gone from an idea, a vision, a dream, to a very real entity.

The concept of SPAW has been with me for some years - I was just one person with a vision to do something tangible and credible to help animal kind. Now as we end our first year of development and head into our first year of operation I am no longer alone and it is a great feeling. There are now hundreds of people in our midst - from all over the world. Our Board of Directors are experts in the areas of business, animal welfare, veterinary care and law. It is important to us that we work collaboratively in all of our efforts and that our mission and values are at the forefront of all of our planning. Hundreds of man hours have gone into our joint efforts and we have done all we can to create a sustainable organisation model that is now a part of the global animal welfare world. South Pacific Animal Welfare is an entity we can foster from our own land of Aotearoa helping animals that most certainly need, if not deserve our focus and attention.

To our partners in The Kingdom of Tonga and Niue, we thank you for inviting us to your islands to work with you to foster and develop animal welfare capabilities with you in the years ahead.

We look forward to bringing you news and stories next year and wish you all a really awesome Christmas and New Year period. Thanks for supporting us.

On behalf of the team at SPAW
We welcome you to our journey.

Ka Kite, Malo, Koe Kia

Merry Christmas
NZ Maori: Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete
The Kingdom of Tonga: Kilisimasi Fiefia
Niue: Monuina a Aho Kilisimasi mo e Tau Foou