Every single day Cora Bailey does something really unusual for a white South African. She leaves behind the middle class suburbs where people with money seal themselves off from people without.

MEN:  Hello! Hello! Hello!

And ventures into some of the count try's most dangerous and deprived communities.

CORA BAILEY, FOUNDER, COMMUNITY LED ANIMAL WELFARE: There are a lot of dodgy characters here. OK.

To help the animals she finds there.

CORA BAILEY: Look at that!

And their owners too.

CORA BAILEY: OK. Squeeze. OK. I can be in the townships for weeks on end, going daily and never see another white. Sometimes just a bus with tourists, and they are all foreign and what a shame that is.

For 10 days I followed Cora and her dedicated team to try to understand why this woman has devoted almost 25 years of her life to fighting the legacy of apartheid. Today Cora's visiting an isolated rural community outside Johannesberg. Her first stop is a friend and local animal lover.

CORA BAILEY: Hello Jim. How are you?

JIM:  Hello, Cora.

Jim is worried about one of his dogs.

CORA BAILEY: OK. Let's have a look at you. Oh. I see what you mean by pale. Come on, baby. Come here. Oh, my word. This dog is really, really ill.

JIM:  Sick.

CORA BAILEY: She's completely dehydrated you see that?

Watching Cora it is incredible to think she's not a trained vet. She's largely self-taught. Over the years she's picked up the basics so she can get the job done.

CORA BAILEY: This dog looks as if it's got a tick-born disease called Barbesia. See the colour of her gums?

JIM:  Yeah, very white.

CORA BAILEY: Yeah.

When she started out 24 years ago South Africa was still ruled by its white minority. Cora was on the board of the SPCA, but frustrated by its lack of concern for animal welfare in the townships.

CORA BAILEY: Essentially I was told that I had to raise the money myself and it was all at my own risk, and there was a lot of negativity about it.

REPORTER:  So, this is Bekkersdaal?

DEVILLIERS KATYWA:  Bekkersdaal.

For many years Cora's only companion in the townships was this man Devilliers Katywa. They have been through thick and then together.

DEVILLIERS KATYWA: She was white in black areas. So, everybody was wondering what was her interest - She's not scared of anything.

Devilliers and Cora ran the vet service themselves until the International Fund For Animal Welfare helped them expand.

NURSE: This is the special part of doing the outreaches when you have these little ones bring their animals in.

Now they call themselves CLAW, Community Led Animal Welfare.

CORA BAILEY: It is incredibly sad that the people who live in the poorer areas have virtually got no access to vet care. They can't get to a vet and even if they could it would be too costly for them. So, animals suffer needlessly.

NURSE:  So every day, just a little bit of this for your cat. OK.

When Cora and Devilliers first came here in 1993, Bekkersdaal was a battleground. There were violent clashes in the run-up to the country's first democratic election.

NEWS REPORT:  Peacekeeping Troops were unable to stop a deadly gun battle between backers of Encarta and the African national Congress...

Cora saw things then that still haunt her today.

CORA BAILEY: People who were considered to be informants were often beaten brutally or put to death, sometimes by fire.

REPORTER: Were you frightened?

CORA BAILEY: Sometimes terribly, yes.

As rival political factions attacked each other, people fled Bekkersdaal, abandoning their pets.

REPORTER:  What sort of condition were the animals in? What sort of things did you see when you came here?

DEVILLIERS KATYWA:  The animals were not right, they were skin and bones, they were starving. And then on the field here we would see the dogs lying there... I saw the flies coming out from the grass. I look at what is there and I notice it was the body of a human being. Rotting there.

Devilliers doesn't remember Cora being frightened, not even when he was robbed at gunpoint.

REPORTER:  Was Cora here then?

DEVILLIERS KATYWA: She was next to me but she couldn't see because she was busy were the cats here.

REPORTER:  She was busy with the cats?

DEVILLIERS KATYWA: With the cats, because… the cats were left behind also, see. I said, Cora let’s go.

REPORTER:  Does Cora get scared?

DEVILLIERS KATYWA: No, she just gets stupid. She doesn't get scared!

REPORTER:  She what?

DEVILLIERS KATYWA:  Just gets stupid, she doesn't get scared. She wants to fight back, that’s all.

20 years after apartheid ended not much has changed in places like this.

CORA BAILEY: Our political freedom hasn't put food on the table for everyone. Our political freedom hasn't meant decent housing or sanitation.

Cora's friend Jim might have the vote, but despite the promises of black politicians he still lives in a shack.

CORA BAILEY: So she's having seizures. Oh, baby.

And he struggles to look after his daughter Nina who suffers from Cerebral Palsy.

CORA BAILEY: She's so beautifully taken care of here by her parents. It would be so nice here if they had electricity. It is very hard to care for a child when you have no electricity or running water. She needs to go to the hospital for a full check-up, Jim. Mmm. We are going to do that.

Communities like this have been devastated by disease, especially AIDS.

CORA BAILEY: Kitty Bone has a very hard life. She is not well.

KITTY BONE:  I have HIV and I have got no eyes and I'm TB.

Along with medicine for the animals, Cora carries food for people in desperate need. Good nutrition is vital when you have HIV and this food parcel will make a huge difference to Kitty and her three children.

REPORTER:  Did your work evolve from looking after the animals to looking after people as well?

CORA BAILEY: 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.

Cora can't ignore it. On recent visits here she's had to deal with a child who was raped and another child badly burned in a cooking fire.

CORA BAILEY: Hello. Hello. Are you scared of me? Don't be scared. See me. Can I see how his back looks? Can I see? Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. The boy was terribly, terribly burnt. We took him to hospital. The parents were under the influence and had a fight and they knocked over the fire, the burner. That's how he got burned. Oh!

MAN:  Cora.

CORA BAILEY: Oh! He is sick.

Right now there is a different medical emergency brewing.

CORA BAILEY: Yes, he is breathing, oh God. Is he breathing? He hasn't got tick bite fever but he is really, really ill. We need to get him in the car. If we don't get him to a hospital soon he's going to die.

Before we leave Cora maybes a nasty discovery.

CORA BAILEY: Oh, my God! It has got maggots in its mouth.

MAN:  You don't have a tissue?

Cora had arrived in the nick of time. I later learned that the dog made a full recovery.

REPORTER:  Was that a normal evening's work?

CORA BAILEY: Yes. Yes.

REPORTER:  Does it make your count your blessings when you go home?

CORA BAILEY: Yes. Absolutely, I never complain about a lack of anything. You know, hugely content with my modest home. This used to be a beautiful village. Originally it was where the white people lived in the old days.

This is Durban Deep near Soweto, once an historic gold mining village - it was sold to a property developer and now thieves have stripped it bare. It is home to the CLAW clinic.

CORA BAILEY: We have had a lot of vigilantism in the area, we have had locals beating up looters, so we have had murder and mayhem there. In fact, enough to make our district have the highest murder rates in the province.

It is tough running a vet clinic in the middle of a virtual war zone. They have no water or electricity.

CORA BAILEY: Here we can only do very basic things, because we have got no electricity.

MAN: OK.

Cora's waiting for a new clinic to be built at Durban Deep. In the meantime, surgery can only be done by CLAW vets at a hospital half an hour away.

SASKIA KARIUS, VETERINARIAN: Every animal that gets treated in our clinic gets sterilised before it goes back home.

REPORTER: Why?

SASKIA KARIUS:  Because there are too many dogs in the townships everywhere.

Back at Durban Deep, Cora reinforces that idea and you are never too young to get the message.

CORA BAILEY: Why do you think it is good to sterilise the dog? I know you love puppies, but there's too many already and there's not enough people with food and money to buy food and do you think your mother would be happy if she a baby every year? No. No.

CHILD: Yes.

CORA BAILEY: No. So we have to do prevention.

Cora says when she tries to drum up support for CLAW she still struggles with the prejudice of many white South Africans.

CORA BAILEY: There is a huge perception here and that comes from our totally racist background, that's any dogs in the townships suffer and they should all be removed. Fortunately we see a different side. 
Which one do you like?

BOY:  I like this one. This one. All of them! All of them!

CORA BAILEY: These puppies are lucky to have you!

BOY:  Yes.

Outside a new generation of pet owners has been lured to the clinic and who can blame them?

REPORTER:  Tell me why you came here today?

BOY: Because I like dogs. Just like….I treat him just like my own brother or my friend.

Many children here come from families and communities fractured by violence. CLAW hopes that encouraging their natural compassion for animals could help change that.

SASKIA KARIUS:  Definitely. They look after them, they give them love, they play with them, so they don't have time to get into - to do mischief and get into trouble and it is just - and they are happy, because they have got a friend. So they don't look for anything else.

When I visit Cora at home I find it isn't that difficult to the CLAW clinic. Animals everywhere! Dozens of them. There are the parrots, and the dogs.

CORA BAILEY: George. Come on, guys!

So many dogs that she feeds them in stages to minimise the chaos and then there's the kittens - three unwanted litters of them, all waiting for a good home. Her home has become a kind of annexe to the CLAW clinic.

CORA BAILEY: This is Pratley, he is named after putty which sticks like glue. He was completely feral and terrified. Yeah. I have always loved animals really. I used to think every dog in the street was in urgent need of care.

REPORTER:  And your husband doesn't mind?

CORA BAILEY: Oh - you know, he's - he's kind of got used to things!

REPORTER:  He is very patient, obviously.

CORA BAILEY: Yes. Yes. He's patient and supportive. Otherwise I guess this couldn't happen. Mmm.

Despite Cora's best efforts, not every animal can be saved.

CORA BAILEY: You are frightened of having your head touched. He has got a battle scarred face and that wound is septic.

This old Pit Bull terrier has just been abandoned by its owner. It has an enormous inoperable tumour.

CORA BAILEY: You have got - oh. Alright, baby. The dog is clearly in pain. He is frightened of having his head touched. I think there's been a fair amount of abuse here. He may have been used for fighting. Let's get him nice and relaxed. Yeah. Haven't you had a cuddle for a long time? Mmm? Excuse me.

There is nothing Cora can to do to treat this dog.

CORA BAILEY: It is very much a case of neglect. It is really cruel that it's been allowed to go on for so long. . It is like that. Sometimes if you - if you put to sleep an old, old dog that's had a good life, then you are actually doing that old dog a favour, by letting them go painlessly. But a dog like this where you are actually doing it because someone has allowed something to get so bad, then - then it hurts. Right. Let's be off.

What real haunts Cora isn't the animal cruelty she confronts every day, it is knowing how much more she doesn't see and can't prevent.

CORA BAILEY: It's very, very hard. So sometimes better just to get stuck in and work and not - not think about that too much.

Cora knows that CLAW can't go into the townships and just help the animals.

SASKIA KARIUS:  Cora is on the go 24/7. She helps, I think, anything that moves, or that breathes, whether it has two legs or four legs. Whatever needs attention Cora is there for them.

There is food parcels, gardening classes, and looking out for the local kids. Cora's making sandwiches for kids who don't get enough food at home. She's far better at caring for others than looking after herself.

REPORTER:  When was the last time you had a day off?

CORA BAILEY: Um, a long time ago.

REPORTER: Are we talking weeks or months?

CORA BAILEY: Actually I had pneumonia in October so I had a few days off in a hospital. How sad is that? What have you got behind your back? You have still got a full one there. Go on.

But the suffering she sees every day also takes a psychological toll. While the kids were getting chocolates, Cora pointed out two small smiling girls and told me they'd both been raped.

CORA BAILEY: It is a highly emotional job. I mean, it is hardly a day goes by where you don't see some kind of suffering, and sometimes you see suffering that's almost indescribable, that you can't come home and talk to your family about.

REPORTER: Tell me what's happened?

CORA BAILEY: I have just had a call to say that there was someone's brought in a poisoned dog. Unfortunately poisoning is pretty much an everyday situation.

The victims have usually eaten poisoned meat left out for rats. There's no power and no light at the clinic, so emergency calls after dark are always difficult. Unfortunately, after we arrive, we find out we are too late.

CORA BAILEY: The owner was in tears. Her dog has just died. Oh. Oh. Look at you. Oh. It is such a cruel way to die.

The agricultural poison used is illegal but popular because it is so cheap and because townships are plagued by rats.

CORA BAILEY: We are going to a place called Kliptown, we are going to look for - we are going to look at filming the sale of illegal poison.

Cora wants to show me how easy it is to buy the deadly poison and she's brought along Lucky to make the purchase. I am hoping that heading to a dangerous part of town to film illegal activity isn't as risky as it sounds.

REPORTER:  What do you think is the worst that could happen, Lucky?

LUCKY: For me, nothing. I don't know about you guys!

CORA BAILEY: This shirt is really tight, I could be the vital distraction you see! Don't you dare put that in!

Cora seems to embrace her undercover role. Lucky asks for the poison and pretends he doesn't know us. The guy selling the poison clearly knows it’s illegal. The handover looks like a drug deal.

CORA BAILEY: OK. Here he comes.

REPORTER: So show us what you got?

LUCKY:  I have got this.

REPORTER:  That's what it looks like. How much?

It cost 10 rand, just one Australian dollar.

REPORTER:  You just said, can I have some rat poison.

Despite Cora’s numerous appeals to police, the deadly trade continues.

CORA BAILEY: I’m ready to cry.

REPORTER: Why are you ready to cry?

CORA BAILEY: Pretty much everything.

Sometimes it looks like it is all getting too much for Cora. Today she is short staffed and there is a monkey in mortal danger that needs rescuing.

CORA BAILEY: I am in disarray. Sounds terribly posh, doesn't it?

REPORTER: See you soon.

CORA BAILEY: Still vomit on the car seat.

No matter how bad it gets Cora sees the glass half full.

CORA BAILEY: Sometimes it can be like oh, my God, you know, another cruelty complaint but yet - I mean, it is amazing that people are coming to us with those issues.

Cora says when they ran the mobile clinics in the early days nobody came. Now they rejoice at the never-ending queues. It might sound corny but they really do seem to be healing South Africa one pet at a time.

CORA BAILEY: Every now and again we all celebrate if we get a dog coming in for a tick treatment and it was first vaccinated eight or 10 years ago. It is like wow! Can you believe that?!

I was surprised after 10 days with Cora that there weren't more people like her helping out in the townships. She told me several times that I'd seen far more than most whites ever do.

CORA BAILEY: We South Africans aren't a bad lot and I think a lot more people would do - would do things if they got over their fear. People in this country fear each other.

Video Journalist
AMOS ROBERTS

Story Producer
GEOFF PARISH

Fixer
LUCKY LEHLOHONOLO

Story Editor
DAVID POTTS

Translations
ANDREW BOLTON
THUSO LEKWAPE
JOHNATHAN PHIRI