We Got The Car! Now We Are Going For Some Shelter!

Animal rescue in Crete is a hard fight and George Orfanidis has been at the centre of this battle for over 20 years. He rescues the sick, young and vulerable and feeds many more street animals. Those who are most in need are taken to his shelters near Heraklion.
Until recently, as a Greek-speaker, George was almost exclusively reliant on the support of his fellow Greeks. This has been very challenging as Greece has been in recession for many years and many supportive people have little spare money to give. All this changed when he was helped to set up a Facebook page by Australian activist Stella and he was given a mention by well-known fellow rescuer and friend Takis. George was then able to reach a wider, international audience. As a result he was funded to build valuable infrastructure which will allow all of his dogs to move to one site and make his life a little easier.
Having heard about George's work and wanting to improve my Greek whilst doing something worthwhile, I went out to help him at the shelters in September 2020. I saw some of the challenges of his work first-hand and they are many. I also made a very good friend in this amazing man and find myself now with two homes.
The new infrastructure allowing all the dogs to be in one place has been a wonderful gift from George's supporters and he is so grateful. Most importantly it will allow him to save more lives.
Having worked with George for a month I can see that he is faced with a huge challenge in getting to the new shelter. The road is long and bumpy. There are a couple of spots where he has to be careful not to take out the bottom of his car and in places water erosion has made it very uneven. His car itself is old and developing faults. On a couple of occasions it wouldn't start and I thought we were going to be stranded. Moreover in the winter the track to the shelter becomes covered in mud washed down from the banking. The car slips and slides and in places there is quite a steep drop if it loses traction.
George really needs a reliable 4x4 to ensure that he can get to the dogs in the worst winter weather. That's why I have set up this fundraiser, in the hope that we can combine our efforts to get him the car he needs for Christmas.
I have also budgeted for a lean-to shelter on the site. Whilst Crete has a lovely, long summer, from October there are rainstorms and these continue through winter. The lean-to will give George somewhere to shelter from the rain, take a break from what is physically hard work and keep essentials used for the care of the dogs safe and dry.
Every little helps. No donation is too small. I will be asking my family this year not to buy me more "stuff" for Christmas but to donate instead.All donations will be gratefully received and hopefully together we will be able to ensure George can reach our best friends safely this winter and in the future. Thank you.