Lamu, Kenya, september 2006
Small Island close to the Kenyan coast, Lamu is a historic town, result of a mix of East African, Omani, Yemeni, Indian, and some Portuguese and Victorian influences... As in other typical Medina's of North-Africa and of the middle-east, until recently, donkeys were the sole means of transport (by land). There are an estimated 2,200 donkeys on the island which are used in agriculture and in carrying household provisions and building materials.
Worried by the poor conditions of the donkeys, Dr. Svendsen who first visited Lamu in 1985 on holiday gave a first impulse to the creation of a centre to improve and follow-up donkey’s health conditions. Since it opened its doors in 1987, the Donkey sanctuary provides treatment to all donkeys free of charge, and Lamu residents widely use it.
Kadija, who has been working at the centre for a few years now, told me about her first day at the centre. It was the first time she saw a birth: “the donkey gave birth, but didn’t survive”. She felt sorry for the little donkey and had to feed him every 2 hours. After a whiled, she decided to buy the baby donkey to work on their farm when he would grow older. “They deserve to be well treated. They are the ones that build our houses, transport the sick people...” She said to me.
The twice-yearly de-worming program and a diffused vaccination program (mainly against tetanus) have contributed immensely to the better health of the donkeys. Thaw a lot of progress has been made, a lot of donkeys still suffer from stomach problems. These problems are due to the ingestion of plastic bags during the dry season. Once the rains stop, donkeys start looking for other sources of food. Plastic bags filed with garbage are a major problem.
Another think the center does, is to buy the old donkeys to the farmers and keep them on a farm for the rest of their lives. As for the orphans, they are also kept in a farm for two years before they start working.
But in Lamu, donkeys are not the only ones to have conquered the hard of men. A mobile clinic for cats was created on septemmber 1992, and on November 1992, the WSPA Lamu Hospital ya Puka (Hospital of Cats) was opened.
Small Island close to the Kenyan coast, Lamu is a historic town, result of a mix of East African, Omani, Yemeni, Indian, and some Portuguese and Victorian influences... As in other typical Medina's of North-Africa and of the middle-east, until recently, donkeys were the sole means of transport (by land). There are an estimated 2,200 donkeys on the island which are used in agriculture and in carrying household provisions and building materials.
Worried by the poor conditions of the donkeys, Dr. Svendsen who first visited Lamu in 1985 on holiday gave a first impulse to the creation of a centre to improve and follow-up donkey’s health conditions. Since it opened its doors in 1987, the Donkey sanctuary provides treatment to all donkeys free of charge, and Lamu residents widely use it.Kadija, who has been working at the centre for a few years now, told me about her first day at the centre. It was the first time she saw a birth: “the donkey gave birth, but didn’t survive”. She felt sorry for the little donkey and had to feed him every 2 hours. After a whiled, she decided to buy the baby donkey to work on their farm when he would grow older. “They deserve to be well treated. They are the ones that build our houses, transport the sick people...” She said to me.
The twice-yearly de-worming program and a diffused vaccination program (mainly against tetanus) have contributed immensely to the better health of the donkeys. Thaw a lot of progress has been made, a lot of donkeys still suffer from stomach problems. These problems are due to the ingestion of plastic bags during the dry season. Once the rains stop, donkeys start looking for other sources of food. Plastic bags filed with garbage are a major problem.
Another think the center does, is to buy the old donkeys to the farmers and keep them on a farm for the rest of their lives. As for the orphans, they are also kept in a farm for two years before they start working.
But in Lamu, donkeys are not the only ones to have conquered the hard of men. A mobile clinic for cats was created on septemmber 1992, and on November 1992, the WSPA Lamu Hospital ya Puka (Hospital of Cats) was opened.
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