Bridging Lanka - Mannar Donkey Welfare & Management Report - March 2021
March was a mixed bag for Bridging Lanka, with some heartwarming stories and great new initiatives, alongside sad stories of injured donkeys not surviving due to the carelessness of humans.
Fly Free Loaders - Admission Number: 221
This donkey lives around the army camp in Mannar where it appears it felt secure and safe. Life threw a curve ball one day when it sustained a leg injury. No one saw it happen but Rojan, Bridging Lanka’s manager was on his morning walk when he encountered a limping donkey. He quickly informed the DCEC. On arrival, the DCEC team could not find the donkey. The search was on, with the army chief joining in. The donkey was located and not only was it limping but had a gaping wound that was fly infested. Back at the donkey clinic the wound was cleaned, treated and is healing well. Once the donkey is fully recovered, it will be released back to its army camp home.
Tin Can Tetanus - Admission Number: 222
This donkey’s haunt was near the Chavatkattu school. Fate dealt a cruel blow when it stepped on an open tinned can. It appears that the donkey walked with this can for some time. Untreated injuries like this have dire consequences as the tin had cut deep into the ankle of the donkey. Noone reported this case. As the donkey’s movements were limited due to pain, it hadn’t been able to graze nor sleep properly. Our team arrived to rescue the donkey on a rainy night and on examination found that tetanus had spread. The poor donkey also kept having seizures. The only humane act left was to euthanize it on the advice of the local Vet.
Catastrophic Roadkill Continues - Admission Number: 223
Anthony who works at the electric wind power station located in Pesalai found a foal who had broken his hind leg in a vehicle accident about four or five days before. The incident happened in front of the Pesalai school. The foal had lost its mother in the same accident and wasn’t able to fend for itself. Anthony was beside himself feeling very powerless and then recalled the services that DCEC provides. He dropped in at the DCEC and narrated what had taken place. Our staff sped off immediately and saw the foal standing miserably next to the carcass of its mother. The foal was brought to the DCEC and some surgery performed to its leg to clean the area of the maggots that had infected the wound. Sadly, the foal died two days later.
The Twist of Child’s Play - Admission Number: 224
Awareness training about donkey welfare is part of DCEC’s modus operandi. However, deviant minds pay no attention and sometimes animals are seen to be a source of entertainment. This story takes place in Puthukkudiyiruppu, where some local boys decide to test how to capture a donkey using a lasso. It was no doubt child’s play at first but ended up tormenting the donkey. The lassoed donkey escaped capture and ran off but the nylon rope tightens as the days go by. Kathafi, the DCEC donkey welfare officer spots this donkey, cornered it and removed the rope. Fortunately, no injuries were sustained. Our work is never over with educating children and adults about being kind to animals
Lucky Donkey - Admission Number: 225
On the 27th of March Alhathir, the DCEC manager receives a phone call from Sampath who told of a donkey with a serious wound on its posterior. The donkey rescue team hastened to Pesalai as Sampath had been waiting patiently for them. He stated he had tried to catch the foal but wasn’t able to get hold of it, out of fear, had kept bolting. Our team went into action as it had to catch both the foal and its mother. They succeeded. Back to the clinic the wound was grotesque and the poor foal was in a lot of pain. Medical treatment was administered and the wound is gradually healing.
Sponsored Donkey: Banjo
Banjo, the sponsored donkey of avid donkey supporter, Jenny Winton, is very naughty and tends to keep its distance from people. He doesn’t respond well to loud voices and resents being on a lead rope when eating grass on the lawn, although green foods are his favourite! Once the lead rope is off he is a different donkey. He loves to roam freely, running around happily and braying in joy. Banjo can best be described as a footloose and fancy free kind of donkey! He also loves peanuts and carrots, and we’ve noticed Banjo's body weight has increased slightly. His arch rival is Kavi, another donkey who brays a lot – louder than Banjo. They give each other stiff competition! Banjo does have one close friend Jaime to whom he shows special preference but he is also a charmer among the other mares. Banjo’s fur is still quite soft and he tends to shed his fur when he’s been in a scuffle.
Sponsored Donkey: Graeme
When Aussie, one of our sponsored donkeys died last year, another donkey similar to the deceased Aussie came into our fold. A new sponsor from Animal Aid Abroad decided to call the new donkey Graeme, although the donkey was female. It took a few days for Graeme to get comfortable with human touch and trust the DCEC staff, perhaps because she was pregnant. The new resident resisted even being groomed. It waited till the other donkeys vacated the food trough before trotting for its feed. Motherly protection to its unborn foal was strong and the pregnant Jenny carefully guarded herself from injury.
On the 11th of March Graeme gave birth to a beautiful and healthy foal of the same colouring, markings and had a distinctive vertical grey patch on its foreleg. Graeme will only graze when her foal sleeps during the day as she constantly watches her foal. The DCEC staff ensure Graeme gets the proper nutrition, especially green fodder. We haven’t named the foal yet and will be looking for a sponsor soon.
Dreams Turn to Reality by Fathima Raseefa, Teacher and DCEC Coordinator
The DCEC has proved to be a mecca for educating school children in English, Sinhala and computer studies in the remote areas of Thailankudiyiruppu, Olaithoduwai, Puthukkudiyiruppu and Karisal. The provision of these classes has helped families save not only on tutoring fees but also time and travel expenses, as these villages are located 12 to 15 kms from Mannar town. The pandemic posed many challenges, one of which was the closure of schools for lengthy periods. There was little home schooling and in some instances none at all! To combat this dilemma, school children in these areas were offered evening classes adhering to social distancing and Covid guidelines at the DCEC.
When schools commenced this year and exams held last month, the students who attended classes at the DCEC had improved their grades! It is heartening to note that these students showed an increase of 5 to 10 points and in some cases up to 40 points in some subjects. Of special mention are 5 students who scored 65 points, a highlight in my teaching career. I’m so proud of the development of my students and applaud them for their hard work in achieving such pleasing results.
Expanding the DCEC Merchandise Lines
The 'Merchandise Project' is one of DCEC’s newer initiatives targeting unemployed young women and school dropouts in neighbouring villages. It has taken about five months to kick-start this project and we are delighted to announce our merchandise staff are now on their way to designing new lines – tote bags, cushion covers, tea towels, among them. They even received a large order from Colombo to sew tote bags. This is a great initiative and we look forward to more orders!
