“For the first time in 10 years, I felt too tired to go out and rescue animals,” said Kalai Vanan, the co-CEO of Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) who has been managing its wildlife rescue and rehabilitative services since 2011. In 2020, the pandemic disrupted the charity’s fundraising efforts and volunteer services, even as the volume of wildlife rescue calls climbed to a record high. The stress of raising money in a recession - and having to get more work done with less manpower - is causing Kalai to burn out. But giving up isn’t an option for him. “This isn’t a job for me — it’s more a big responsibility given to my colleagues and me. It’s not something I can just throw away to go and do something else.” This year, as ACRES celebrates its 20th anniversary, Kalai has even bigger plans for ACRES - expanding its facilities and outreach programmes. And he doesn’t intend to stop until ACRES becomes a household name. Kalai is one of 12 individuals CNA Insider has tracked over the past year to see what the pandemic recession has cost Singaporeans, and how ordinary folks dug deep to meet the challenge - and came out tougher for it. Click to explore Surviving Recession, a CNA Insider special: https://cna.asia/survivingrecession Watch the other videos in this series: I Lost My Boutique - Now I'm Fighting To Keep It Alive Online: https://youtu.be/KoNzcXUU-qU He Lost His Income, Then Sank Into Depression. Now This Exotic Dancer Is Fighting To Get Back On Track: https://youtu.be/CUd6h_8xxnI How A Dance Company Gets Creative To Find An Online Audience: https://youtu.be/hzSg_bqOrfg For more, SUBSCRIBE to CNA INSIDER! https://cna.asia/insideryoutubesub Follow CNA INSIDER on: Instagram: https://ift.tt/2C3sZiR Facebook: https://ift.tt/2PPEuNA Website: https://cna.asia/cnainsider
Post a Comment