Mannar Donkey Welfare & Management Report
Silver Linings – April 2022
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⚠️ Warning: The following posts contain images that may be disturbing to some readers.
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A Donkey Hero — Admission Number: 341
Sulfikar, a resident of Tharapuram, is one of the Donkey Clinic & Education Centre’s (DCEC) guardian angels. For over a year he has been a regular informant of donkey injuries in his village. As a result of his diligence he has become the unofficial mediator between the DCEC and those who have witnessed suffering donkeys.
One day, Sulfikar noticed a donkey struggling to stand so contacted our donkey clinic. As the rescue crew was already dealing with another donkey case, an alternative vehicle was needed. Sadly none could be found due to the extreme diesel shortage. We rang Sulfikar to try arranging a vehicle at his end. After several attempts, a truck was commandeered and the injured donkey transported to our clinic.
This incident occurred during the month of Ramadan and those involved in the rescue and treatment were Muslims who were fasting that day, but that didn’t deter them from caring for the poor animal. After a full body checkup, the donkey was found to be suffering from a nail lodged in its hoof. The nail was dislodged and the wound, treated. A happy day indeed!
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A Tough Nut to Crack! — Admission Number - 343
One of our staff, Ainkaran, was informed by a local that a donkey with an injured leg was hobbling about. The rescue team was alerted and arrived at the location, but there was no donkey to be seen! The hunt began. Half an hour later the target was spotted but that was just the start of it.
The donkey proved to be quite the formidable combatant as it continuously felt the need to display its strength. After a tiring kick & bite match, our staff, managed to restrain the donkey and bring it back to the donkey clinic. The donkey received the best of care and necessary treatments. In a few days the wound was healed and the donkey returned to its original habitat to once again roam undeterred!
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A Second Visit — Admission No: 346
Every day, a group of donkeys frequent the area around the Grand Mosque in Mannar, very close to the Bridging Lanka office. There they forage for whatever food they can find. As many markets around the area discard their leftovers, this is an ideal feeding ground for the donkeys. One such foraging donkey had already been a patient of the donkey clinic once before, presenting with a broken leg. This time too it was seen to be painfully moving about the streets. The donkey was once again brought back to the DCEC to undergo an operation on another leg. After treatment the donkey is recovering well and should be ready for release in a few weeks’ time.
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It’s Cashew Season at the DCEC!
And everyone is excited as work begins to harvest and prepare the nuts for market, and of course to satisfy the cravings of both visitors and staff. Sadly it was slim pickings this year. All over Mannar Island we heard stories of reduced harvests with no apparent reason for the decrease. This year, only 10kg of cashew apples were harvested, yielding a mere 2kg of cashew nuts, a big drop from last year.
Nevertheless our team processed the nuts - separating the apple from the nut, sun-drying the nuts, lightly roasting them to remove their outer shell and finally, sharing the tasty morsels. Two visitors to the DCEC were over the moon – a case of being in the right place at the right time.
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Interested in Lending a Hand
Three passionate women from the Rockids Foundation in the Netherlands arrived at the DCEC to find out more about our donkey programs, and especially about our donkey assisted therapy. The trio was already supporting children’s education programs in Mannar and Vavuniya and showed interest in supporting our proposed preschool.
Extended time was spent getting to know each other at significant depth and a mutually warm connection was established. Alhathir, DCEC manager, also showed a presentation about the extensive work of the donkey clinic centre. Although it was a whirlwind visit, on their return to the Netherlands, the trio promised to consider supporting our animal and children’s initiatives.
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Donkey Milko – A Testing Time
As we continue to investigate the feasibility of producing donkey milk in the hope of making donkey cheese, support pours in from unexpected places. Our recent donkey sponsor, Mr. Sivakumaren happened to be at the GULFOOD EXPO held in Dubai in February of this year and coincidentally passed by a stall run by the Golden Donkey Farm of Cyprus. They were giving away free 10g sachets of freeze dried donkey milk.
This had to be fate as our team had reached out to Mr. Sivakumaren just a week before his trip in regards to our donkey milk project. He brought back a sachet for us to test. We prepared the sachet as directed and compared it with the same quantity of fresh raw milk from our very own jennies (female donkeys). Safe to say our milk was far superior!
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New Trends in Store
Our merchandise team at the DCEC, Fayasha and Farhana, have rolled out new designs as the demand for our donkey related merchandise increases. Visitors to our centre invariably purchase these attractive items as they make the perfect souvenir or gift for a loved one. All our designs are stitched and/or painted by hand and can be found on a variety of products including tote bags, t-shirts, caps, and tea towels. The latest addition into the store is our very own donkey hand puppets inspired by the workshop conducted by Mrs. Seema Omar. And what a wonderful addition it has proven to be, especially for the children who visit the centre from various parts of Sri Lanka.
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Food, Glorious Food!
Expansion of our Co3 grass cultivation has taken flight inspired by the worsening economic circumstances faced by Sri Lanka. Food for people, let alone donkeys, has become so scare and, where available, so expensive. A 400% increase in donkey food and no animal welfare agency to support us have prompted the expansion of our green fodder cultivation, and fast! The clearing of land for the growth of Co3 grass, an important nutritious food for our donkeys, began earlier this month, and the fruits of that labour have started to be reaped. An additional acre of land nearby the DCEC has also been cleared and cultivated to ensure a regular and affordable food source for our donkeys. The downside is that significant staff time is now taken to maintain, water and harvest the grass.
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Alhathir Shahul Hameed, Fathima Raseefa and Sanchitha Wickremesooriya
Bridging Lanka, April 2022
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In Australia, Bridging Lanka Ltd is a public benevolent institution (PBI) with charity status with the Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission, and deductible gift recipient status and charity tax concession status with the Australian Taxation Office. All donations are tax deductible.
In Sri Lanka, Bridging Lanka (Guarantee) Limited is a registered not-for-profit company with the Registrar of Companies and a Voluntary Social Service Organisation with the National Secretariat of Non-Governmental Organisations.
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