Dateline: May 19

Tonight Dateline is in South Africa to profile the remarkable Cora Bailey who ventures into dangerous and impoverished areas to help treat animals that are ill or have been neglected.

When Cora started 25 years ago, her mission was to care for animals, but when confronted with poverty and poor living conditions, she realised that some of their owners desperately needed help also.

“It was never very easy to tell people how to look after their animals if you saw the dire poverty which sadly still exists today. It’s really difficult to ignore.” she tells Dateline video journalist Amos Roberts.

“It’s tough, running a vet clinic in the middle of a virtual war zone, without water or electricity.’ she says.

Cora now organises everything from food parcel deliveries to gardening classes. Children frequent her clinic regularly to pat puppies and learn how to care for them.

Cora’s determination and commitment to the cause means that she never has a day off. She also feels the level of need in the townships is overwhelming.

“It’s very, very hard. So sometimes its better just to get stuck in and work and not too think about that too much.”

Tuesday 19 May at 9.30pm on SBS ONE.