Stopping the beating in Mauritania
Back in 2007, we launched an appeal to raise money for a headcollar project for donkeys in Mauritania. And earlier this year we had a chance to check up on the progress of this project.
The city of Nouakchott has no water system, so donkeys pulling carts with two forty-gallon drums of water distribute it around the town. The youngsters who run the system are very poor and will not have had the chance to go to school.
Their donkeys have no bridles or headcollars and are steered by means of hitting them around the head with a stick or length of piping, which often results in terrible wounds.
But, thanks to our supporters, we were able to:
- Organise a harness-making course, to teach a dozen local artisans to make simple and cheap headcollars with reins attached.
- Get the ‘message’ across to all the youngsters through a little TV sketch which is based around football training and fitness
- Distribute over six thousand headcollars to nearly ten per cent of the donkey population.
The success of this programme is already visible, as donkeys with headcollars have far fewer wounds and abrasions than those without.
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