Olfa

Independent animal rescuer in Tunisia

One woman.
About 100 animals. A daily struggle to survive.

Olfa (52) from Tunisia has been rescuing abandoned, sick, injured and vulnerable cats and dogs for years. What started with feeding stray animals in her neighborhood grew into a life mission. People started leaving animals directly at her house: kittens in boxes, sick cats, newborn puppies. She simply couldn’t let them die.

The situation for animals in Tunisia

The situation for stray animals in Tunisia is serious. Poisoning, mass killing operations, and a lack of awareness about sterilization and responsible pet ownership make life for dogs and cats extremely dangerous.

Olfa now provides about 100 animals:

Cats in a rented house
Dogs in a boarding house and some near the cat house
Strays that she takes in and cares for daily on the street

Over the years, Olfa has lost about 100 cats to poisoning — a recurring problem in her area that has haunted her for years.

There have been several poisonings in the rented cat house, which led her to have to relocate her animals again.

A life completely dedicated to animals

In addition to her full-time job, Olfa spends every free minute doing laundry, cleaning, providing medical care, responding to emergencies, and finding money for food, medication, sterilization, and veterinary bills.

For years she paid everything herself, with her salary, savings and loans. Now the financial burden has become too great to bear alone.

International adoptions have been a ray of light: 18 dogs found a safe life abroad through her. But the costs for medical care, documents and transport are high, and without a partner she cannot continue doing this.

Safety and her biggest dream

In the rented cat house, poisonings have already occurred. about 100 cats She died. She had conflicts within her family and had to move her animals several times.

Her biggest wish is a safe, permanent place for her animals — but financially that is unattainable.

Today Olfa stands alone: exhausted, with debts, limited resources and an enormous responsibility. Yet she continues to fight for the animals that no one else has.