This ‘please-call-me’ is urgent. There’s an animal in need, and one of Jerry’s Rangers has spotted it. Back at the Soweto Animal Rescue and Advisory Centre (SARAC), Jerry Selwane already has his hands full of paws. But he’ll gladly take in one more stray dog. And another after that. Because he believes that they suffer as we humans do. That their rights are the same as ours. And that they should be protected.
Spreading this message is the purpose behind SARAC, the shelter that Selwane started in his own home. He wanted to put his 17 years of experience as an SPCA inspector to use not only in saving animals, but in educating people about them. So, looking to the future, he enlisted the help of youngsters in his community to help him find abandoned animals. The group known affectionately as Jerry’s Rangers includes his three sons.
Selwane has passed his passion for animals on to the three boys, who beam as they reveal that their father shows the animals as much love as he does his family. By interacting with the animals his rangers begin to understand and appreciate them. The ripples pour out over the community as it becomes their mission to educate others. Seeing young people take up the cause so close to his heart fills Selwane with the deepest pride. He knows that “saving one animal won’t change the world, but the world will definitely change for any animal that we save”.
