My bond with animals began long before I understood the word advocacy. It started with noticing a hungry stray waiting near a gate, a bird struggling to fly, a dumped blind animal trying to find its way through the noise of the world, a silence that felt wrong. Those moments taught me that empathy isn’t taught by the world, it awakens from within it.

Over the years, that quiet instinct became a calling. I have walked through alleyways, construction sites, deserts and mountain trails where life still tries to survive against all odds. These eyes have seen cruelty and neglect in forms I wish I never had to, and I have saved animals from situations so unimaginable that even I doubted rescue was possible. Yet I have also seen resilience and forgiveness in the eyes of those who have suffered most. That contrast keeps me going.

Rescuing is not only about saving lives, it is about witnessing, understanding and choosing not to look away. It’s about acting on what you’ve seen and heard, because compassion means little until it becomes action.

Many animals once forgotten and unwanted have since been rehomed internationally, loved and are now living the lives they always deserved. Each one is a reminder that hope can travel further than despair ever could.

For me, Echoes by Chiku is awareness through writing and small daily acts of care, feeding strays, helping the injured and campaigning for protection and reform. My advocacy also extends to wildlife, sustainability and coexistence, where I work against hunting and captivity and continue to raise awareness about the links between animal welfare and the planet we share.

The Al Falah desert tragedy in Abu Dhabi was one of the challenging rescue. I carried out frontline rescue efforts there, being among the first to respond and the last one to leave. What I saw was devastating, animals lying still under the open sky in the sweltering desert heat, some with eyes half open as if waiting for someone who never came. The tragedy drew international attention, which helped shape some of the progress we now see in awareness and responsibility toward animals.

Animals live with us, not beneath us. The balance that sustains the Earth depends on whether we remember that truth. Animal welfare has no borders, and compassion is the only echo that should never fade.