With your support we have helped over 27,000 animals - so far!
Give a Dog or Cat a Healthier Tomorrow - One Spay at a Time.
Our mission is helping pets and communities thrive in Namibia by offering
free spay and neuter services and basic (emergency) medical care for dogs and cats of low and no income families throughout Namibia.
We improve animal and community welfare.
Clearance Certificate received!
About Have a Heart
What we do: Have a Heart is a in Namibia (21/2014/0378) and Germany registered non-profit organisation, working across Namibia with one clear purpose: saving lives through sterilisation.
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​We provide free spay and neuter services, as well as basic medical care, to dogs and cats belonging to low- and no-income families. By preventing unwanted litters, we reduce suffering, improve animal health, and work toward a sustainable future with fewer stray animals and less pressure on shelters.
Why it matters: Our goal is simple but powerful: healthier animals, stronger communities, and humane, long-term solutions, eliminating the need for mass euthanasia through prevention and care.
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Impact so far: Every dog and cat sterilised by Have a Heart also receives vaccination and parasite control, benefiting not only the animals themselves but also the people and environments they live alongside.
How you can help: With your support, we help close the gap in access to veterinary care,giving less fortunate pets the chance every animal deserves: a happy, healthy life.
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Together we are making a difference!
we make our work transparent
Let's take a stroll...
Why is this Work necessary?
​Every animal helped by Have a Heart is carefully recorded and tracked, including sterilisation, follow-up vaccinations, parasite treatments, and medical care, in line with legal requirements. Transparency, accountability, and impact measurement are central to our work.
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The health and welfare of dogs and cats are closely linked to the wellbeing of the communities they live in. By providing essential veterinary care such as spaying, neutering, vaccinations, and parasite control, Have a Heart helps create healthier animals, safer environments, and stronger communities.
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Beyond physical health, animal welfare also has a profound impact on mental and emotional wellbeing. The United Nations recognises the importance of protecting children from exposure to violence against animals, as such experiences can have lasting psychological effects. By preventing neglect, uncontrolled breeding, and animal suffering, Have a Heart helps reduce everyday exposure to animal distress, fostering safer, calmer environments where children can grow up learning empathy, responsibility, and respect for life.
Our impact has also been recognised internationally. Have a Heart was shortlisted twice by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control for the World Rabies Day Award, in recognition of our ongoing efforts to fight rabies in Namibia.
Healthy pets - healthier communities!
In many poverty-stricken areas of Namibia, pets are not a luxury, they are part of the family. Our surveys and public census data show that every fourth person owns a dog and every fifth person owns a cat in these communities.
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With over one million people living in extreme poverty in Namibia and countless more struggling to make ends meet, access to veterinary care is simply out of reach for many. Based on our data, we estimate that at least 250,000 dogs and 200,000 cats qualify for free support through Have a Heart. As a result, our waiting lists are long, and the demand for help continues to grow.
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Have a Heart works where the need is greatest: in townships, informal settlements, rural villages, and remote areas, often hundreds of kilometres from the nearest town or veterinary clinic. In these regions, animals face significant challenges when it comes to basic healthcare, not because owners do not care, but because resources are limited.
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The clearest proof of why our work is needed is the number of requests we receive every single day. Most spay days are fully booked within hours. We simply offer support and thousands of responsible, grateful owners actively seek out this help because they want what is best for their pets. Responsible dog and cat owners in Namibia care deeply about their animals and are eager to improve their health and wellbeing when given the opportunity.
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2025 Counter - this years hero numbers!
That’s thousands of unwanted litters prevented this year alone!
How we work
Have-a-Heart Namibia has partnered with about 20 veterinarians from all over Namibia, other charities and the mobile animal clinics of Dr Erna Meyer, Dr Hartmut Winterbach, and Dr Ian Baines. We work together with the vets and organise spay and neuter events for dogs and cats, depending on the availability of the vets and funds received through donations.
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Our main aim is to sustainably and humanely reduce the number of stray animals in Namibia and improve their health status. We achieve this with your support by providing free spay and neuter services to underserved communities, thereby eliminating the need for mass euthanasia or killing. Of course we also help in cases of injuries or illness with basic medical care - thanks to the emergency fund of Animal-Kind International! Through our dedicated efforts, we have have significantly reduced the breeding rates of dogs and cats in the areas where we work and also improved their health and the value of the pet within the community.
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Our mission is saving lives through sterilisation, and and to make sure we have the possibly best positive impact, we work with the six principles of effective, sustainable DCPM by ICAM: Humane and ethical, adapted to local dog and cat population dynamics, sustained and adaptive, evidence-based design, monitoring and evaluation, focus on root causes, central role of human behavior.
Woof?
Have-a-Heart is the first and only registered non profit organisation in Namibia carrying out mass sterilisation in townships, and is already well known and established in the country with a proven track record of success - all possible because of your donations and support.
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Our teams have been working with low and no income families since 2013, and know well the challenges of working in townships and rural settlements in Namibia. The teams are well experienced and practiced in communicating the benefits of our work to pet owners and answering any questions they may have regarding sterilisation and vaccination or animal health and welfare.
Funding
Have-a-Heart Namibia is a non-profit organisation and we receive no support from the government, meaning we are to 100 % reliant on donations and grants to carry out our much needed work.
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If you would like to become a valued donor and make a difference in Namibia's dogs and cats:
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Have a Heart | Bank Windhoek | Acc: 2000266940 | Outjo 481 673 | SWIFT BWLINANX | Savings
Ewallet: 0811249033 | PayToday: Have a Heart Namibia | PayPal.Me/HaveaHeartNamibia
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Have a Heart Namibia | Sparkasse Südholstein | DE 74 2305 1030 0511 5558 07 | BIC: NOLADE21SHO