Known for her remarkable work in animal welfare, CEO and Founder of ACF Animal Rescue, Ayesha Chundrigar voiced the struggles she faced as a young entrepreneur who followed her passion of being the voice for the voiceless during a recent LIVE discussion with the renowned counselor and therapist Dr Sheeza Mohsin. Chundrigar revealed the hardships she faced while implementing an animal rescue service in Pakistan, the hard work that went into creating it, and the negative feedback she received in pursuit of a suffering-free world. The two powerhouses further discussed self-care, navigating compassion fatigue and burnout.
In the enlightening LIVE session, Dr. Sheeza Mohsin asked Ayesha Chundrigar how she managed to bring animal welfare to Pakistan, a country that has overlooked animals for years and where there aren’t many resources. Chundrigar responded by reiterating how difficult it was to establish her rescue service as a 24-year-old pursuing her passion and trying to eradicate or at least help all those suffering. “I used to see donkeys being beaten, I used to see kids on the road with no shoes at my age, I used to see skinny dogs and puppies being run over and I was like why… is it just me who sees this? Is no one else seeing what’s going on?”
Chundrigar went on to state, “I couldn’t bear the suffering. If I didn’t do anything about the suffering, that helplessness creates a very overwhelming feeling which I’m sure a lot of people can relate to in some way. It might not be with animals, it might be something else you’re passionate about. But for me, it’s that they’re so innocent, so pure and the fact that we can exploit their suffering so easily. It resonated with me.” The entrepreneur further disclosed that she always questioned the lack of empathy, compassion, and basic humanity in our society. She perceived their mistreatment to be unbearable, knew that raising awareness over the matter wasn’t enough and something had to be done to lead the change.
Discussing the fear of failure after actually having experience in animal welfare, Ayesha Chundrigar stated, “there is so much pressure also that you can’t fail, now that you’ve done this and you’ve started something.” As the discussion continued she reiterated that being too available for everyone is not healthy and you need to take time off for yourself to recharge and refuel otherwise putting out fires all the time will eventually burn oneself down. People can continue to push you to do more, rescue more but nobody sees the effort and endurance it takes to get an exhausting job done. Eventually one has to take a break and not lose themselves in the process.
Ayesha Chundrigar then discussed the unreal and redundant expectations people have from humanitarians “you’ve got to play a certain role and you got to look a certain way. If you don’t do that, then you’re bad.” She elaborated on the image of philanthropists which is projected by our society and the frustration that comes with it. Dr.Sheeza then went on to explain that self-care and philanthropy are not mutually exclusive as people believe.
They can hype you up and make you feel great but can be overly critical when you shift focus to yourself. Dr. Sheeza further elaborates on how ample validation can be too much to handle and can have a negative impact. One should learn how to declutter and allow only certain opinions to have an impact on them. She further advises the importance of self-care and switching off social media, disconnecting for some time as it helps realign your focus in life.
Ayesha Chundrigar fearlessly opened up about the difficulties she endured as a symbol of strength for all those who are ambitious enough to bring change society thinks and acts towards the abuse of animals. Chundrigar is proof that if one had the courage to take the road less traveled, even one person can change the world.
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