Public, private sector, and civil society came together for stray animals

Osmangazi Electricity Distribution Company (OEDAŞ), the electricity distribution company that runs the Can Dostlar social responsibility project to meet the nutrition, shelter, neutering, care, and treatment needs of stray animals, opened its second treatment room in Afyonkarahisar after Eskişehir. The medical equipment support for the treatment room, which was opened within the Temporary Animal Care Center of Afyonkarahisar Municipality in collaboration with Afyonkarahisar Municipality and HAYTAP, was provided by OEDAŞ. OEDAŞ Director Muzaffer Yalçın, who made a speech at the opening ceremony attended by Afyonkarahisar Deputy Mayor Murat Öner and project representatives, said, ‘We are delighted that Can Dostlar has turned into a social responsibility project embraced by everyone, from the public to civil society.’

Osmangazi Electricity Distribution Company (OEDAŞ) launched the Can Dostlar social responsibility project at the suggestion of field workers who realized during the Covid-19 pandemic that some basic needs of stray animals were not being met during curfew restrictions. Within the scope of the project that has been meeting the nutrition, shelter, neutering, care, and treatment needs of stray animals for approximately two and a half years, the second treatment room was opened in Afyonkarahisar after Eskişehir. The opening of the treatment room, established in collaboration with Afyonkarahisar Municipality and the Animal Rights Federation (HAYTAP), took place with the participation of local authorities, HAYTAP representatives, OEDAŞ Director Muzaffer Yalçın, and Regional Director Cafer Demir, among other company executives, one day before World Animal Protection Day on October 4. Öner presented a plaque to Yalçın for OEDAŞ’s contribution to improving the living conditions of stray animals.

Muzaffer Yalçın: “Our project has grown day by day with the support of everyone.”

Muzaffer Yalçın, Director of OEDAŞ, stated that in addition to their main activities in the field of electricity distribution services, they implement projects aimed at contributing to society, the environment, all living beings, and culture. He said, “With these projects, we focus on adding value to our region, our country, and our world, starting from our region. We launched the Can Dostlar social responsibility project based on the suggestion of our field workers during the pandemic period. In the initial stage, we started with food distribution, and our project has been growing day by day with the support of the public, civil society organizations, and the local community. In response to this interest, we have expanded our project to contribute to the sheltering, neutering, care, and treatment of stray animals. We opened our first treatment room in Eskişehir two years ago. In that treatment room, thousands of neutering operations, including challenging surgeries like tumor removal, have been performed on cats and dogs.”

“Our goal is to expand our project in our region and set an example.”

Yalçın continued, “In the initial phase of our project, we started distributing food in five cities in collaboration with the Animal Rights Federation (HAYTAP), one of the most reliable NGOs in our country in terms of animal rights. Then, Eskişehir Tepebaşı Municipality joined this collaboration, and we opened our first treatment room. Now, with the support of Afyonkarahisar Municipality and HAYTAP, we are pleased to open our second treatment room. We are grateful to them for this collaboration. Our goal is to expand our project and set an example in the cities we serve, which are Bilecik, Kütahya, and Uşak.”

Medical equipment support for Afyonkarahisar, donation to earthquake-stricken area

In this project, OEDAŞ provided medical equipment support for the treatment room opened within the Temporary Animal Care Center of Afyonkarahisar Municipality. The treatment room received veterinary operation tables, dry air sterilizers, dog intensive care cabins, mobile-type surgical lamps, surgical tables, neutering clamps, and soft tissue sets. Furthermore, HAYTAP donated two medical devices on behalf of OEDAŞ to the earthquake-stricken area as a token of appreciation for the support given to stray animals.

Internationally awarded project

The Can Dostlar social responsibility project, initiated in 2021, is not only followed in the region but also in the international public. With this project, OEDAŞ received the Best Business Award in the Corporate Social Responsibility category at the prestigious Best Business Awards in the United Kingdom in January. In August, the project was honored with the gold award in the Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year category at the Stevie International Business Awards, considered the “Oscars of the Business World” globally.

Meaningful gift on World Animal Protection Day

OEDAŞ also gifted a package of pet food to citizens who visited the regional directorates throughout the day on World Animal Protection Day this year, just as they did last year, to contribute to the nutrition of stray animals and raise awareness on this issue.