Climb For Claw

TACKLING Africa’s highest mountain, all for the love of animals.

- Vanessa Papas

THEY say the harder you fall, the heavier your heart; the heavier your heart, the stronger you climb. This is the core of Community Led Animal Welfare (CLAW), a non-profit animal organisation determined to change the plight of thousands of abused, neglected and orphaned animals in South Africa. 

Renowned as the pioneer of community-based primary veterinary care, every day CLAW tackles a virtually impossible mountain. They set out with grit and determination and navigate the steps needed to create change. Desperate to raise funds to continue their ‘climb’, CLAW veterinary nurse JenniferGerner of Edenvale, Johannesburg, will ascent Mount Kilimanjaro – the highest mountain in Africa – in just a few short months. Originally from Canada, Jennifer has set roots in South Africa and is an integral part of the CLAW team. “I moved to South Africa in 2009 after a safari vacation in 2007. I just fell in love with the country and the people. I stepped off the plane and felt like I was home! I moved to South Africa to specifically work at CLAW. My background is in emergency veterinary medicine and I thought the animals in the townships could benefit more from my skills than those in Canada,” says Jennifer. “The hardest part of working at CLAW is the enormous need for our services and that we just don’t have the resources to help every community.