Tonight, SBS’s Dateline meets the remarkable vet Cora Bailey from South Africa as she helps treat animals that are ill or have been neglected due to the impoverished conditions they are kept in.
When she started 25 years ago, Cora’s mission was to care for animals, but when confronted with poverty and poor living conditions, she realised that some of their owners desperately needed help also. She now organises everything from food parcel deliveries to gardening classes for the local people. Children also frequent her clinic regularly to pat puppies and learn how to care for them.
“It’s tough, running a vet clinic in the middle of a virtual war zone, without water or electricity,” she tells Dateline video journalist Amos Roberts. However, her determination and commitment to the cause means that she never has a day off as she feels the level of need in the townships is overwhelming.
“It’s very, very hard. So sometimes its better just to get stuck in and work and not too think about that too much,” she says.
Tune into Dateline tonight (Tuesday 19 May) at 9.30pm on SBS ONE to see the full story, and follow the conversation on Twitter using #DatelineSBS. For more information on Cora, visit the SBS website.
