Focus Area for November's Uganda Donkey Welfare Clinics
In November, AKI Partner Bam Animal Clinics - Uganda held three major donkey welfare clinics and several humane saddle making training sessions in three sub counties, Riwo, Kabei, and Brim, in Bukwo District. All of these were sponsored by Animal-Kind International.
This area, bordering Kenya, is mountainous, road networks are sparse, and it's difficult to traverse with a vehicle. Instead, donkeys are used, most often by women and young girls, who wake up in the early morning to fetch firewood, water, food, and bags of charcoal.
On their way to one of their clinics, the Bam team met Annet Cherikut with her children coming from the hills in Riwo Sub-county, where they collected firewood. Her donkeys were carrying the wood without saddles to support the burdens on their backs. The Bam team talked to her about using humane sisal saddles, which are cheap, easy to make and use, invited her to a training session, and arranged to meet again.
Uganda Donkey Welfare - Humane Education
The team's next stop was Riwo Primary School, where 100s of children gathered for Bam's animal welfare session. With the students, they talked about all animals, but with a big focus on donkey care, since many of the children are responsible for the care of their family's donkeys. Even the teachers were excited about the topic, and along with the students, asked so many questions.
Uganda Donkey Welfare Clinics - Vet Care
Next, Bam held a donkey welfare clinic at Riwo Primary School, where 100s of donkeys with their owners - children, women, men, including many elderly people - waited patiently to be seen by a vet and/or paravet. Along with providing vet care, Bam always talks about humane handling, feeding, housing, and basic treatments that the owners can practice on their own.
Since most owners don't use saddles on their donkeys, or may use ones that provide very little protection, donkeys develop wounds on their backs and behind their tails which are very painful. Yet owners work their donkeys through in pain, the wounds fester, get infected, and still the owners don't seek help or try to treat the wounds. This is usually because they don't think that donkeys feel pain, or they don't actually see the wound and how badly infected it is, or they don't know how to treat it, and because they have no spare money, they can't afford help and don't buy ointments.
Uganda Donkey Welfare Clinics - Humane Saddle Making
Still at Riwo Primary School, Bam formed the attendees into smaller groups for humane saddle making sessions. After humane saddle training, farmers are given the already made saddles and they also receive free sisal sacks and other materials to make more saddles at their homes.
Thanks to support from Animal-Kind International, the vet treatments and saddle making sessions are provided at no-cost and therefore, people are willing to spend some time and effort to attend and learn.
The Team Moves On
After Riwo, the team headed to a site in Brim Sub-county at Kyemtang Trading Center where again they met many farmers who had brought 100s of donkeys. Lastly, in Kabei Sub-county, Makutano Parish headquarters, farmers braved the heavy rainfall and flooding to attend the donkey welfare clinics.
Animal-Kind International has supported Bam Animal Clinics - Uganda donkey welfare work since 2019, first as grantees, and then as Partners. While there's still so much work to be done and so many more sub-counties to visit where Bam's support has been requested, they have already accomplished so much.
With your support, their work will continue and they will achieve even more.