THE RANA STORY
from a dream to reality...
After living in Libya and Tunisia for 5 years, it was hard to ignore and forget the level of cruelty and neglect witnessed whilst living there. Whilst volunteering at shelters in the UK some awful things had been seen, but the level of abuse towards animals across North Africa was on a whole new scale. There was a distinct lack of people and organisations helping in any way. In an area 8 times the size of the UK, there are just 3 shelters, bursting out of their flimsy fences... so on returning to the UK in 2013, RANA: Rescue Animals of North Africa, was born!
It has not been easy! Dealing with Tunisian logistics whilst being in the UK, becoming familiar with endless (ever changing) import paperwork and having to prioritise who we can save, when there are no foster carers available or availability in the shelters.
As a charity we rely solely on donations and all our volunteers dedicate their time for free, it has been a constant fight to keep afloat and many of our vet bills remain outstanding. We are ALWAYS looking for assistance and volunteers and work tirelessly to try and spread the word about what is happening out there... the endless shooting campaigns, the poisoning, the dog fights, the dumping of newborns in bins, the abuse, the torture, the lack of education around basic animal welfare, the ongoing refusal to sterilise... the list goes on.
RANA does not have it's own shelter and relies solely on people coming forward to volunteer & foster. Foster parents are integral to our whole set up, so as well as changing the life of the animal coming in to foster, another one can be saved from the streets.
We are thankful for our small community of adopters and fosters and always keep in touch with the animal long after it has been adopted. Our RANA Happy Ever Afters Facebook group keeps us motivated through the tough days!
We remain excited about what the future can hold for RANA and are blown away by how far we have come so far. We aspire for a response similar to that in Romania, people 'knowing', means people 'doing', people 'helping', people 'saving'... so please share, like, retweet, tell your friends about the animals in North Africa and come and say Hello at our stalls, follow us on social media, we need your help to make change happen.
Thank you for the support, (we need it!)
Love Michaela & our amazing RANA Team spread out around the world xx
WHO IS RANA? MEET OUR RESCUE TEAM....
Michaela - RANA Trustee, Accounts, Adoptions Coordinator & Social Media
Michaela is (sometimes based in the UK) and looks after the RANA database which allows us to keep track of the RANA adoption process. Working closely with the Adoption Coordinators, her aim is to ensure a smooth, efficient adoption system which allows us to keep track of the many adoptions that take place, as well as over seeing the rescues that take place in Tunisia.
Meriam - Tunisia based Animal Rescuer
Meriam lives in Tunis where as well as housing over 100 animals in her home, working a full time job, she then feeds cats and dogs on the street every evening. She never stops, often setting her alarm through the night to feed the latest newborn puppies & kittens. She is a real life superwoman and hundreds of animals owe their lives to her. She is also an expert in pet travel paperwork and will often be found at the airport, ensuring animals make their flights. Speaking fluent Arabic, French & English she is an essential asset to the RANA team.
Karin - RANA Trustee, UK Based Cat Adoptions Coordinator & Social Media
Zohra - Tunisia based Animal Rescuer
Zohra lives in Sousse & began rescuing a few animals off the street. When people became aware of this, more dogs & cats started appearing on her doorstep. Thankfully Zohra used to work as a nurse & is often a life saver when it comes to nursing animals back to health & preparing them for travel to their new homes.
Thouraya - Tunisia based Animal Rescuer & Foster
Emna - Tunisia based Animal Rescuer
Sara - Tunisia based Animal Rescuer
Sara runs the PAT Shelter in Tunis, which houses almost 200 animals. She is never off her phone responding to desperate calls for help. She is in essence the closest thing Tunisia has to an RSPCA. She is totally committed to saving animals and knows every single animal personally.
Fatma - Tunisia based Vet & Animal Rescuer
Erica - Website
TALK TO US
We'd love to hear from you about anything and everything!
- fostering a dog or cat
- taking on a role in the RANA team
- donating or fundraising
- volunteering
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​E-MAIL
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ADOPTION
We love that you want to adopt!
Please complete our dog adoption form or cat adoption form and we'll be in touch.

WHERE ARE WE?
Sadly we do not yet have a shelter, we rely on people who foster to make rescues happen. Our foster Team in Tunisia is based in Tunis, Hammamet and Sousse.
We are always on the look out for foster support, to ease the burden of those in Tunisia... if you are in Tunisia or Europe and want to get involved, please get in touch!
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FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
FAQ:
1
​How do I
adopt an animal?
Have a browse through our Adopt/Foster tab and see what animals we have available.
If you have questions about who would fit in with your lifestyle, please send us an email.
There are thousands of animals in Tunisia and Libya looking for homes, so we are pretty confident there will be the perfect one for you. Complete our dog adoption form or cat adoption form and we'll be in touch!
2
Payment
& Shipping
If there are any problems with the payment system, please send us a message on our RANA email, info@ra-na.com. We would hate to lose out on valuable donations.
Also please ensure you give us the correct delivery address when ordering so we can ensure the items get to you as quickly as possible!
