Charlie and Lola, a non-governmental organization (NGO) originally founded in Belgium, has since expanded its reach worldwide. The primary focus of this organization is the welfare of street animals in the world, as well as providing mental coaching to individuals in need.
Established years ago, Charlie and Lola have made it their mission to improve the lives of both animals and humans, particularly in areas where assistance is often lacking. With a worldwide connection, the organization has been actively working to address the plight of street animals, who often suffer from neglect and abuse. By providing much-needed food, water, medical attention and projects to establish a safe haven for them, Charlie and Lola is making a meaningful impact on the lives of these vulnerable creatures.
In addition to their work with animals, Charlie and Lola also offers mental coaching services to individuals facing various challenges. This support is crucial as much of this work is online and can reach many people at the same time and various countries where mental health resources can be limited, especially for those who are marginalized or underserved. By providing guidance, counselling, and access to resources, the organization is helping to improve the overall well-being of those in need.
Through their tireless efforts and unwavering dedication, Charlie and Lola have become a beacon of hope for both animals and humans. Their commitment to compassion, advocacy in creating a better future for the generations to come and empowerment of every human being continues to have a positive impact, both locally and globally. As they strive to create a more compassionate and inclusive society, Charlie and Lola are proving those actions that can lead to lasting change.
The history of Charlie and Lola
Caroline, the founder of our organization, dedicated numerous years to actively address and expose the rights of animals subjected to cruelty or abandonment by their owners. Her commitment to animal welfare began at a very young age and that led her to employment with the city’s welfare department, where she specifically focused on advocating for the rights and well-being of animals.
Even after her tenure in the city department, Caroline continued her mission as a passionate volunteer. On a daily basis, she tirelessly traversed the streets, investigating cases that demanded urgent attention. Recognizing that animals lack a voice of their own, she became their advocate, lending her voice to those in need.
In her voluntary capacity, Caroline diligently documented and gathered evidence, going above and beyond to defend the rights of animals living between humans but also in the wild.
Speaking out against animal abuse wasn’t just a task for her; it has always been an integral part of her identity. Given that animals are voiceless, she felt a natural obligation to be.
their advocate, using her human voice to speak up for them when they needed it the most and that is exactly what she has done for more than 20 years but always in a way that she advocates and works for solutions.
Caroline collaborated with local radio stations to be a voice for animals in need or urgent cases of animal neglect and abuse in need of care and presenting animals looking for a forever home when in shelters.
As cases were not easy to be solved directly because some owners went to great lengths to hide their crimes which meant that some investigations took up to 3 years daily documenting facts before the justice departments could actively step into their role as defender and prosecute animal abusers.
It became more and more clear that all these activities needed to be united into an NGO as our founder wasn’t only active as a defender of animal rights and finding solutions but also in bringing people together in helping other people when in need just the same as she did for animals.
Caroline was not only active with animals but also helping less fortunate people and became very active during the time that she was working worldwide for Thomas Cook in offering her support to an orphanage in Kenya. As our founder could count on the help of several volunteers around the world, the necessity of a global NGO became obvious.
The name was chosen very deliberately, everybody knows the saying like cat and dog. There are a lot of dogs and cats who live harmoniously together and are even best friends and there are dogs and cats who really don’t like each other and who are each other’s worst nightmare.
The same goes for humans and animals, they live harmoniously together and many people have an animal as their best friend but in several situations, humans are the worst nightmare of the animal kingdom and its environment.
So the NGO Charlie and Lola was born…Charlie was the beloved pug dog of our founder and Lola, a rescued little black cat, was Charlie’s best friend and one could not be seen without the other. The Same comparison goes for humans and nature, the living space of all wildlife.. It is up to humans to protect this living space because humans can not live without wild animals
An example… Without the existence of bees, an environmental threat to our planet comes alive. The physicist Albert Einstein said that if the bee disappeared from the surface of the globe, humanity would have only four years of life left, as food crops would have no one to pollinate them like the wild bees do.
NGO Charlie and Lola works together with several NGO’s helping animals who were victims of abuse in either care centres when in need of urgent medical attention or to be adopted into new homes by animal lovers.
NGO Charlie and Lola actively made programs to assist these care centres when in need. Projects were made to bring people together in collecting food for NGO’s and people who were feeding street animals.
As her work as destination responsible for tour operator Sunweb led her to Egypt, helping the many street animals in need with medical care and the feeding of Baladi dogs living free on the streets of Egypt became an extra focal point of the activities. The NGO started looking for ways to sustain this and find resources to provide food for the volunteers who were feeding these animals on a daily basis.
During Corona times, our founder followed many different courses to enlarge her scope on the mental suffering of people around the world as it became clear that due to the global pandemic, many people had to deal with their own changing world. A high rise in burnout cases, addictions and people needing healing after the loss of family members was noted globally. The NGO worked together with several mental health specialists to create a free program for mental healing and people empowerment around the world. As it is proven both by physical and mental specialists, animals in need and people in need form the best combinations in mutual healing.
In 2023, Gaber became the vice president of the NGO after the retirement of a former board member. Gaber had been active for years on a professional front in and around the water and had seen with his own eyes the beautiful wonders of the fauna and flora and the endangerment of its existence for future generations to come. His thoughts and view on the preservation of marine life around the world fitted right into the philosophy of the NGO and after many months of research into this subject, the NGO proposed its own special project for the preservation of marine life.
As all these projects cannot run without financial injections, the NGO started looking for ways to finance these projects without asking the general public for money without something in return. A sales program was created, and the search started for partners who were willing to work together with Charlie and Lola while supporting the various projects of the NGO.
The web shop of NGO Charlie where likeminded people can support the NGO by buying products and experiences while on vacation in Egypt or other countries around the world became the main financial lifeline of the NGO and every partner of the NGO is supporting the causes by donating 25 percent of their global sales figure to NGO Charlie and Lola.
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