Nicky Scales is a British national who has been living in Phnom Penh for about five years. She, along with other foreigners, created the Phnom Penh Animal Welfare Society. Their goal was basic: they hoped to improve the lives of the city's animals. Foreigners come and go from Phnom Penh but Nicky's presence has remained constant since the organization's formation. She works as a physics teacher at an international school in the city center. Though she now spends a large portion of her salary on PPAWS related expenses, she has not always been an animal rights crusader.
Before living in Cambodia, Nicky and her son moved to China, bringing with them their pet dog. In China they took in a few injured cats and a dog and through these efforts they discovered a way to help on a local level.
PPAWS is funded for the most part by Nicky, with donations from others helping here and there. She had her car painted with PPAWS logos so it is recognizable upon arriving at a pagoda. Her house serves as the rescue center where new animals are brought to be washed. Nicky carefully removes ticks and fleas, gives the animals a dose of dewormer and determines if they need medical attention. If they need to see the vet Nicky takes them in and pays for the visit. She is always looking for people to foster kittens and occasionally puppies. If no one is available to help they stay at Nicky's house until a new home is found. If people own a pet but can't afford to have it desexed she often finds herself paying for the operation. Nicky has also paid to have PPAWS t-shirts printed, along with posters, brochures and tuk tuk advertisements.
In addition to this work, Nicky also invests in Khmer helpers. At the pagoda near her home she is paying for the education of a ten year old boy. The boy was left at the pagoda by his father who could no longer care for him. When Nicky visits his pagoda this boy helps her to find the animals in need of extra care. Nicky is putting a young woman who occasionally works as a translator on pagoda trips through university. Nicky also pays Chamnan, a young Khmer vet who works as a vet tech at the French-run veterinary clinic, to come to the pagodas with her. Chamnan translates, diagnoses problems, vaccinates, deworms, and, most of all, gains experience helping animals in the field.
At the pagoda near the university Chamnan has had the opportunity to teach other veterinary students how to vaccinate the dogs. This is practice their university cannot afford to give them.
Nicky knows that she will not always be in Cambodia, so she is working hard to create something sustainable. In addition to providing Chamnan with invaluable experience, she is also working to bring veterinary medicine to the rest of Cambodia. One solution to the lack of trained and equipped veterinarians outside of Phnom Penh is to purchase and put together a mobile surgery van. More information on this project can be found on the page titled "THE FUTURE."
The videos below are meant to give an idea of Nicky's dedication. In them she discusses the difficulties she has faced and lessons she has learned (Click the play arrow to load video. Scroll right for more - if you are on a mobile device you may need to scroll above or below to reach more videos).