10-year-old volunteer working towards animal rescue and care - By Samyukta Lakshmi

Simhasthita Singh volunteering/at work at Samabhava, an NGO at the Palace Grounds, Bangalore, India. She helped raise INR 75,000 during the lockdown through her self-directed videos. In these, she introduced Samabhava and the work they do. When shared on social media, they helped raise funds for Samabhava.

Simhasthita Singh grooms Survivor, a pony rescued by Samabhava.

Grooming is an important part of horse care, and doing so daily allows the handler to check on the horse’s general health and well-being.

Simhasthita Singh gets the horses and ponies feed ready at Samabhava. She mixes the sprouts with oats, bran, and puts them into separate bowls which are fed to the horses.

Simhasthita Singh gives Sultan his food and watches over him while he eats at Samabhava.

Simhasthita Singh with one of her favourite ponies, Sultan.

Sultan was found amidst heavy traffic on the streets of Bangalore, and was suffering from a painful and deadly hoof disease called ‘Founder’ or ‘Laminitis’. He was barely able to walk. 

With lots of care from the NGO, he lives a secure life.

Simhasthita Singh stacks up the horse feed in an auto. The feed is then transported to the rescued horses and ponies that have gone out to graze at different locations.

Simhasthitha Singh records another YouTube video.

She has made different videos for Samabhava - introducing the NGO, talking about the work they do, introducing the rescued horses and ponies and their injuries and handicaps, and the cats and dogs at the NGO.

She makes one more video with the hope to raise more funds, as Samabhava has two new horses, one with grievous injuries.

Simhasthita Singh checks to see if everything is OK with the recording she’s made. She usually records the videos with the help of her brother, and he helps her edit the videos.

Simhasthita Singh discusses with Sandesh, the founder of Samabhava. 

They identify the tasks she's done for the day, what's planned for the week, and talk about the injuries of the rescued horses and ponies, as well as what needs to be done for each horse and pony.

Seen in the photo is the first video that Simhasthita Singh made on Samabhava which helped raise 75,000 INR for the NGO. It was subsequently shared on social media to raise additional funds.

Simhasthita Singh watches an India-Australia match with her family. She loves playing cricket and receives training at a cricket camp.

Simhasthita Singh during her online class at home in Bangalore, India. During the pandemic, schools were closed and classes were conducted online.

Simhasthita Singh hugs Mo. 

Mo was taken in by Simhasthita’s family from CUPA, a shelter for stray animals. He began going out to graze with the ponies rescued by Samabhava and eventually became a part of their herd. 

Mo now spends most of his time at Samabhava in Bangalore, India.

Simhasthita Singh rubs Mo’s head.

She says they love each other, and he loves the head scratches she gives him.

Mo, the donkey, tries to rub his head on Simhasthita. 

Simhasthita and Mo share a special bond, and he loves rubbing his head on her.

Samabhava is an NGO at the Palace Grounds in Bangalore. The NGO works for the well-being, welfare, and protection of abandoned horses, ponies and working animals.

Many NGOs and volunteers came together to cook food and feed the street dogs/Indies. Food was delivered to different areas. 

One such area is the Palace Grounds, which has over 500 street dogs. The dogs were dependent on food and scraps from the wedding halls. With no weddings happening, the dogs were deprived of food. Food was cooked and dropped off every evening by volunteers at the different gates of the palace grounds. 

Simhasthita, along with her father and a few volunteers would feed over 100 dogs every day.

A few street dogs at the Palace Grounds, Bangalore, India.

During the lockdown, millions of street dogs went hungry. With shops and restaurants shut, garbage scraps - the canines’ main source of sustenance - were gone. 

Many NGOs and volunteers came together to cook food and feed the street dogs/ Indies. During the lockdown, Simhasthita helped feed over 100 street dogs every evening.

Simhasthita Singh gets Thunder ready for her riding lessons. 

She helps the groom with saddling Thunder up for the lessons.

Simhasthita Singh at her riding lessons at home in Bangalore, India. She rides three to four times a week.