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People are not obligated to like animals, but they have a duty to respect them.
Walesca Soares da Silva /
Online Checkout Specialist
In the orphanage, we were raised with a very strong bond with animals, and our new parents were very kind and taught us to love and care for the most needy and humble.
I was born in Recife. When I was 4 years old, my parents died and I was raised in an orphanage. There I was loved and cared for by people who raised us as their own children.
In 2019, my husband gave me an abandoned stray cat as a birthday present. It was very sick, so we took ED (the kitten's name) to the vet, and we gave him first aid.
helpingTo this day he is still with us – beautiful, affectionate, and happy. Today, I have 9 cats in my house, excluding ED: amputees, blind cats, cats that can't walk because they were abused, and others with trauma from human touch (one of them had acid thrown on his body and can't tolerate contact with people).
My goal is to neuter one kitten per month, unless there's an emergency like being hit by a car or some event that requires me to take them to the veterinarian, Dr. Debora, who charges a price I can afford.
I use 50kg of cat food per month to feed the stray kittens that wait for me along my way to work, and I have neutered all of them. To date, 120 cats have been neutered and 50 adopted.
I think about giving up whenever one dies, whether it’s run over, poisoned, or a victim of violence, but I remember that the others are alive and need me to be strong.
helpingI rescue animals and will do everything to ensure their survival. When that's not possible, I give them a dignified burial to honor their life, because they are creatures of God and deserve everything, including my respect.
The situation of street animals in Brazil is terrible. People abandon them as if they were going to survive on the street eating grass.
helpingA street cat suffers from the first to the last minute of its life: They are run over, poisoned, mistreated, violent, hungry, thirsty, cold, and afraid. On the street they are totally vulnerable; they are defenseless and naive. Although people are not obligated to like animals, I think they have a duty to respect them.
This makes life very difficult for those who care for them, because there are thousands of people who abandon and mistreat animals and few who defend and care for their well-being.
As anywhere else, there are good and bad people; people who see suffering and remain indifferent, which leads them to abandon animals to their fate on the street.
The most important values for me are: respect, empathy, and gratitude. I see these values at inDrive because the company tries to connect with its employees, and the company's mission is to challenge injustice and create positive change.
helpingSo we continue one day at a time. Doing our part, however small, we will build great change. In many ways, some of the people who know what I do already look at street animals and their needs differently. They have more empathy for their situation. And it helps me in the way that I work with my colleagues. I try to be as helpful as possible.
