‘Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink’, so the poem goes and so life used to be for donkeys in north east Kenya before the LIDOW project began.

One of the key roles of donkeys in towns is transporting water in drums on carts to supply hotels and for personal use.  Often, the donkeys would wait patiently at the water points without being offered any water to quench their own thirst.

Since the inception of the project in 2005, the project team have been working with local groups to provide access to clean water for donkeys through construction and maintenance of water troughs and shade shelters.

So now, while donkeys wait, they can take advantage of the facilities and take a quick drink.  And if they happen to have to wait around whilst their owners go off to do some business at the market, they can be parked under some shady trees.  Now that’s what I call a low cost, environmentally friendly, sustainable solution!

Read Tania's third blog on the effects of drought in Kenya.