Disclaimer:
Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.
DESCRIPTION: What did you observe, or what did people write or say?
Small colorful houses have been decorating Batumi lately. having too many stray dogs roaming in the city of Batumi, local [REDACTED] decided to use his savings for the construction of the houses for the strays dogs. the important aspect of the idea, was to motivate other young people in the city to take care of the street dogs and engage more people in the process. luckily the idea was a success and many were interested in cooperation or support, some were donating money, while others donated material for construction, most of the times this was a leftover from constructions and household, which could go to waste, but instead , due to the Levans idea were used for the construction of dog houses. The innovative approach lays not in the construction of the houses per se, but in the approach of solving the problem in the city. particularly, houses constructed by Levan were provided in the areas, where citizens would take the responsibility to engage and take care of the stray dog roaming in the neighborhood. This included vaccination, feeding, etc. The dog house or as Levan calls it "hearth" documented on the below photo was placed near the Batumi State University, where students and academic staff took responsibility to take care of two stray dogs. Overall the interest was so big from the community, that Levan decided to create a special facebook page to engage wider public.
NEED: What need does this answer?
Local municipalities in Georgia fail to address the problem of stray dogs roaming in the streets of the cities and towns, moreover, it is not a rare find to see malnourished, abandoned dogs wondering on the main highways and roads. The problem is created not only by the lack of stray dog population management from the local self governments, but also by the citizens. particularly, it has become "fashionable" to own a dog, so most of the times families purchase dogs, without realizing the full responsibility. Thus, as a result of irresponsible decision, after some time, people realize that they no longer want or are capable of having a god, so they leave the animal in the street. the above mentioned project engages local communities in response to the described problem, ensuring that the stray dogs are vaccinated, sterilized and bring no harm to the locals.
INSIGHTS: What lessons can be learned from this observation?
this case demonstrates an example how one persons idea can engage larger community to target the common problem and to some extent take over the problem solving function of the local municipality. this case is also a good example for crowdsourcing and crowdfunding. Moreover, the fact that waste materials are being used for the construction of the dog houses creates a value for waste and a better understanding among citizens on how it can be used.
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