Meet Janet Kay Coppini RVT of Orange County

Today we’d like to introduce you to Janet Kay Coppini RVT.

Hi Janet Kay, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
One of my earliest childhood memories is a TV commercial showing images of young African children, my age at the time, living in severe poverty. I didn’t understand why people would allow them to suffer. Those images eventually planted a seed of inspiration in me to do mission work in Africa, a seed that bore fruit when I went on my first mission trip to Rwanda, Africa, in March of 2019. 

On St Patrick’s Day of this mission, a 7-week-old puppy placed herself in front of the van carrying me and my mission team. She was thin, hungry, scared, and scratched up. I began sharing my meals with her and knew I needed to get her to safety. Rescuing a stray animal in any country is a challenge. The odds are exceptionally slim in Africa, with limited cell phone and laptop use, and less than 48 hours before my team would relocate to a different city.

As a Registered Veterinary Technician who has taken the Hippocratic Oath to protect animals and alleviate their suffering, leaving this pup on the streets to fend for herself was not an option I could consider. Divine intervention was in order. A Native American elder once told me that if we genuinely believe in the power of prayer, we can go straight to the thank you, so I did. Referring to finding someone to care for this pup, I prayed, “I have no idea how you will pull this off, but I know you will. Thank you!” What followed was a beautiful 11th-hour rescue story for another time and place.

Upon my return to America, I reflected upon my life-altering mission experience, of which finding care for the pup was a highlight. I had learned through her rescue that there is a most unfortunate stigma some place on dogs in Rwanda related to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. This heartbreaking phenomenon fueled my extensive research into the history of dogs in Rwanda and Rwanda’s history in general. As I devoured any credible articles, books, documentaries, and movies I could find, an unshakable idea came over me. Rwanda’s beautiful people and animals need a mission that addresses their needs simultaneously through one mission.

While contemplating creative ways a mission could serve people and animals in Rwanda together, having the pup I rescued trained to accompany me on missions as an education dog took on a life of its own. The presence of a well-trained dog would speak volumes in schools and presentations anywhere in Rwanda. I researched the logistics of what would be required to make that happen. Bringing a dog from Africa to America is no easy feat, but as the Native American elder suggested, I again said a thank-you prayer. Less than three months after my March 2019 mission to Rwanda, I boarded a plane for Africa and returned to Orange County, California, with the pup I named African Joy, “AJ”, in my arms. She was just 4.5 months old.

The past six years have been filled with extensive training for AJ, including more than 30 flights for in-cabin airplane acclimation, and at least twice that number of airport acclimation trainings. My past and ongoing growth is also a requirement to lead this mission in the most positive light. A long list of Rwandan people has given this endeavor their time, energy, and knowledge through hundreds of WhatsApp messages, emails, phone calls, Zoom calls, and other correspondence. Many people in the US have and continue to support me and AJ through her training, and donations of the time, energy, service, and money required to get us this far, including two fabulous volunteers who established our 501(c)(3) non-profit status. I am grateful beyond measure to anyone who helped birth this unique organization, given the name of African Joy’s Mission, doing business as AJ’s Mission. I will list all of you when I can. For now, know that I am eternally grateful.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Building upon this excellent community of supporters is the biggest challenge for AJ’s Mission. I face this hurdle with courage, confidence, and unwavering faith. Growing up in the small northern California community of Ferndale before moving to the equally quaint community of Petaluma, California, I was taught by some of the best that the rewards of healthy giving far exceed what it takes to provide life-altering and life-saving gifts within our means for animals and people in need.

For example, when I was commuting to school on bald tires in my early 20s, friends Greg and Marilyn Hull insisted on providing me with four new tires. When I had difficulty accepting, Marilyn said, “Don’t think your need is all about you. It’s about those of us around you, too. It’s our responsibility to recognize a need before us and to give as a sign of gratitude for our blessings.” Soon after, while driving to school in a downpour of rain, a car quickly pulled into my lane on the freeway. To avoid a collision, I slid into the grassy and muddy center divide, losing control of my truck before barely regaining control and driving back onto the highway unharmed and untouched. This happened right in front of an overpass. I might not be here if Marilyn and Greg had not recognized the importance of giving to me in my time of need. The same life-saving potential is true for anyone donating to AJ’s Mission.

My highest hope and prayer is that AJ’s Mission won’t just be a source of great sustenance for the people and animals we serve in Africa, but also a rewarding opportunity for those willing to give within their means in a way that truly has the potential to save or at least greatly enhance lives through our Buddy Bundles—more details on this in the next section.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Our unique $100 Buddy Bundles allow us to bring water filter straws, food, school gardening programs, humane education materials, and AJM t-shirts, along with visits from AJ to as many Rwandan school children as donations permit. We currently accept and would greatly appreciate donations of one or more $100 Buddy Bundles through our website, www.ajsmission.org. Click Buddy Bundles.

Anyone purchasing a bundle receives a photo of the smiling child receiving their bundle along with a coloring thank you note. Bundles can be given as gifts and make a meaningful project for children outside of Africa to learn about children from a different culture. Rather than a monthly commitment to sponsorship, Buddy Bundles are a one-time gift program that we hope our supporters will enjoy participating in yearly.

Beyond Buddy Bundles, we are building the financial integrity and transparency necessary to qualify for grants and donations from larger funding sources. Our five-year goal is to build sleeping cabins for veterinarians, veterinary nurses, and other veterinary missionaries to make it easier and more affordable for them to participate in spay-a-thons and vaccination clinic missions.

Wonderful people and organizations in Rwanda are working hard to create a kinder and gentler country for animals, but they need much more support. We seek to collaborate rather than compete with them on ways to empower their ability to decrease the pet population problem and decrease the number of cruelty cases, including establishing and maintaining animal protection laws.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Keeping AJ and me as healthy and fit as possible on all levels is crucial to the success of AJ’s mission. For AJ, this means maintaining her training, public acclimation, and in-flight comfort level and providing her with the best nutrition and veterinary care. It means keeping my health and wellbeing above average on physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, and intellectual levels. I must continue to educate myself on all aspects of Rwanda, including safe travel for AJ and me to, through, and from Africa.

The power of one life to make a difference in the life of another is profound when it comes to how rescuing AJ transformed both of our lives. Together, we now launch AJ’s Mission to touch hearts in ways that also make profound differences in the lives of some of the world’s people and animals in greatest need. I am eternally grateful to those of you helping make AJ’s Mission possible through publications like this one, donations, and support of any kind.

Please follow us at “AJ’s Mission” on Facebook. For more information, questions, or to donate, please visit www.ajsmission.org. Thank you!

Pricing:

• $100

Contact Info:

• Website: ajsmission.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577006695558&mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr