In December we were fortunate to be given the opportunity to volunteer at The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust, a small charity established by Stella Marsden in 2002.
Keeping horses and donkeys healthy in The Gambia is a real challenge. Insect borne diseases and tick fever are extremely common and when combined with poor nutrition and management caused by lack of knowledge and poverty, the results can be disastrous. A healthy working animal can increase its owners income by up to 500% and buying an animal is a big investment for a Gambian family, so apart from the suffering that the animal experiences, the family also suffers if the animal is sick or dies. The aims of the Trust are to provide veterinary treatment, educate owners and train livestock assistants, research diseases, and overall improve the welfare of working Equids in The Gambia.
As well as the Horse and Donkey Trust, Stella always tried to find ways to assist the local community. One of the things that had been bought to her attention was a stretch of road 7km long, which leads from the villages surrounding the Horse and Donkey Trust to the river. Villagers use this road daily to get to the rice fields and it is the route to the nearest secondary school, health clinic and market. Most of the road had been washed away and during the rains the road was underwater, causing people and animals to wade through kilometres of water. This was dangerous for children going to school and people had been known to put off visits to the clinic, causing unnecessary deaths. Horses and donkeys sustained injuries whilst trying to pull their carts along the submerged road.
Sadly in 2008, Stella passed away. Despite her best efforts, she was unable to raise sufficient funds to rebuild this road before her death so she asked her sister, Heather, if she would ensure that the road was built. Heather made her promise and raised £165,000 to rebuild the road. It was built with community involvement and the rehabilitated horses and donkeys that belong to the trust played their part in fulfilling Stella’s dream by helping to carry materials for the road on their cart.
The road was officially opened in December while we were volunteering at the trust and seeing the results of this massive project and the positive impact it has had on the local people was incredible. Heather told us that Stella’s dream also included raising funds for a boat across the river big enough for horses and livestock to travel in. There have been several disastrous incidents of horses or livestock drowning as they are forced to swim across the river while owners travel in small boats. It would be great if we could raise some money for The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust to help fulfill and maintain Stella’s Dreams.
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