Our core team, staff and volunteers

Board Members

Karuna Society was registered in 2000 with seven Board Members, some of whom are very active and involved in the daily management of all our projects. It is important to highlight their activities. They are the pillars of the society!

Clementien Pauws-Koenegras
President and Founder of Karuna Society

Narendra Reddy, Secretary.
He is involved in all local matters, municipality contacts, police, land problems, personnel management and, above all, he is dedicated to the rescue of wildlife in our area.

Kesapuram Adi Narayana reddy, Vice President 

G. Manjunath, Treasurer

Narashima, takes care of all our cattle, donkeys and horses.

Irudaya Mohan Fernandez

J. N. Jagadeesh

Our Staff, Volunteers and Supporters

​Animal lovers usually like to support the animals directly by using their donations for food, medical treatment and/or shelter. However, for each animal the most important person for their wellbeing is their attendant, their Most Important Person (MIP). It is the MIP who cares for the animal with love and respect; cleaning them in the morning, keeping them warm and safe at night, giving them food and water and informing the supervisor if they observe that their charge is not doing well and needs medical help.

Without the local staff and attendants, animal welfare remains an unrealized dream. It is by their hard work that the awareness of animal welfare spreads throughout the local community. Most of our employees/attendants are uneducated as they are from the poorest classes and are from families that live below the poverty line.

Karuna pays the legal minimum salary to start with and it goes up as the employees improve their skills and by seniority. We currently have a group insurance and pension scheme. Karuna provides training and a secure job. Our employees learn to work in a team, and to take pride in their responsibilities and so, have the daily opportunities to show us their talents. Most of Karuna’s staff has remained with Karuna for years. Narasimha, the Clinic Manager has been with Karuna since 1998.

Adopting a MIP at Karuna provides for the care and nursing of the animals as well as securing a better living situation for an entire family.

Please consider sponsoring one of our staff members. The average salary for one MIP is Rs 7500/- which is approximately $120 a month.