Sara

Dear President Obama, Today I am writing to you in order to convince you to invest international aid money in microloan organizations. I am sure that you are already aware of the success rates that microloans have had on countries suffering from poverty. “Making loans and fighting poverty are normally two of the least glamorous pursuits around, but put the two together and you have an economic innovation that has become not just popular but downright chic,” says James Surowiecki, from //The New Yorker. //Microfinance is the process when small loans are given to poor women trying to support their families in developing countries. I strongly support this system because it has high success rates, and the women receiving the loans, have the responsibility to pay them back. One rewarding aspect is, the donors see the results. These microloans are extremely effective in helping women dig themselves out of poverty. The constructive part is, the different finances have clarified that they are a form of a business, rather than just a charity. There are some flaws with the program, for example, poor borrowers become better off. But on their own, the donations don’t make the suffering countries any richer, because they aren’t meant to increase the rate of employment. However, the success of workers/woman involved in this charity has been affective in their lives. With more funding, hopefully the microfinances and microedits can help support small communities one by one leading to the thriving of small impoverished countries. Regards, Sara Marsh Beaver Country Day School

My last week at the animal shelter was relaxing and low-key. When I arrived at 8:40 AM, Cordelia, the other high school student volunteering there had come in extra early and cleaned all the cages on the adoption floor. Thankfully, all I had to do was feed all the cats the wet food. Cordelia left soon after I arrived because she had come in extra early, so I went down to cat receiving by myself to help clean the cages. There are usually adults that have mental disabilities and that live in group homes volunteering at the shelter the same time as me. They are always supervised by a mentor and usually work in the isolation room, where the sick cats live until they are treated. This week one of them helped me clean the cages in cat receiving. It was difficult working with Kim, because she needed a lot of assistance but she was very affectionate and caring for the cats. She also asked me to take a picture from her camera phone of her with a kitten to send to her mother. After finishing all the cages in cat receiving we went to the dog area where we passed out treats. The dogs were very exciting to see visitors and were all barking loudly. The last thing I did before leaving was pass out carrots to the rabbits. I didn’t see any that had been adopted from the previous week. The good thing is however; they are all being well taken care for and have a place to stay. Overall, I had a wonderful experience working at the shelter, and as I became more familiar with the set-up, I was able to visit the other animals such as the dogs, and smaller animals. The upsetting thing is, with the economy down, the shelter needs more help than ever, especially now that three of the MSPCA locations are closing.

This week while working at the animal shelter I was accompanied by another high school senior who was fulfilling her senior project. This was exciting for me, since I am usually the only high schooler there. We were able to work together quickly so I had time to visit the small animals and dogs this week. After cleaning all the cat cages on the adoption floor we went back to cat receiving. A lot of new cats had been brought in, so we had to help prepare new cages, while moving the older cats into the empty cages on the adoption floor. After we quickly finished, because we were eager to see the other animals, we prepared all the wet food and passed them out according to the types of food they eat. Adult food is the most common however there are some kittens that have to eat the kitten formula, and cats with stomach problems that need a special formula called w/d. After we finished caring for all the cats at the shelter we visited the small animal’s area. There were gerbils, mice, rats, guinea pigs, bunnies/rabbits and ferrets. I handed out carrots to the different bunnies, and was able to take one or two of them to a small enclosed room to run around for exercise. The sad thing about the small animals is that they aren’t adopted as quickly as the dogs or cats. Most people that come to visit the shelter end up taking home another animal. The interesting thing is, the smaller animals are much easier to care for. They are much less expensive to care for, and they require much less maintenance.

**MSPCA Reflection ** This week while working at the MSPCA Angell Adoption Center I had full responsibility of the cats. I arrived at normal time, 8:40, but the staff was already finishing up the adoption area, which meant that the rest of the work for the morning was in cat receiving. All that was left to do for the cats on the adoption floor was to prepare the wet food. So I went through the cages and counted how many cats ate adult food, kitten food, or w/d (the special food for cats that have upset or sensitive stomachs). After feeding all the cats their food, I was told that the whole staff from the MSPCA had an annual meeting where they discussed the shelter. I was left to work in cat receiving by myself while everyone attended the meeting. Working by myself was cool because I felt experienced and confident in what I was doing. I know that the staff at the shelter wouldn’t have left me the responsibility if they knew I wasn’t capable working alone. This entailed cleaning and feeding 3 rooms of cats, and setting up new cages for the new cats that would be brought into the shelter. From 9:45 till 11:30 I was busy working by myself in cat receiving, however I wasn’t timid or worried about being alone because after 4 sessions I was familiar with the shelter and how to handle the cats. After all the staff returned from the meeting, I learned that the meeting was planned to discuss the future of the shelter with the president of Angell Animal Shelter. I asked one of the staff members how often these annual meeting happen and she told me that, “out of the 5 months I have been working here, this is actually the first one.” So these meeting must take place every six months or so to discuss the financial conditions and working environment of the shelters in the Boston area.  Internship Reflection This past week was my fourth session at the MSPCA’s Angell Adoption center. The previous three weeks I have been working with the cats and kittens and prepping them for adoption. The adoption center opens at 2 PM every day, so every Thursday morning I am busy cleaning the cat habitats, supplying them with more food/water and bringing new cats onto the adoption floor. Each week I have become more, and more familiar with the system and how the adoption center functions. I haven’t had the opportunity to work with dogs, which upsets me, but I know that I’m learning a lot about the issue of animal homelessness and how the shelter functions. Each cat habitat on the adoption floor has a name card that includes a cute little blurb all about the cat. These blurbs are for the visitors of the shelter to read and help them decide when picking a cat. The cats that don’t have names or are strays are named by the shelter randomly. However, some of the cats are named by where they are found/their characteristics. For example, a stray cat that was found on Bond St. was named “James Bond.” The cats in cat receiving are all waiting to be put out onto the adoption floor when a space opens up, or are newly brought in. Their name cards have information about why the cat is at the adoption center, its name, and any problems or concerns about the cat, like if it’s sick, or unfriendly/violent. Recently I have been spending more time looking at the name cards and figuring out why most of the cats are at the shelter. I have a greater sense as of to which cats are friendly, and which ones don’t like to have contact with humans. This is especially helpful when cleaning their cages!