Last week I was working in Ethiopia, a beautiful country where it is the norm for donkeys to work, rather than be kept as pets. My travels took me to our projects in Addis Ababa, Debre Zeit and Hawassa.

Wow, what a busy couple of days. Having arrived in Addis Ababa following the night flight I couldn't sleep on, we hit the road almost straight away and visited Merkato Market in the heart of the city.

My name is Dawn Vincent and I am visiting our work in Ethiopia this week, where millions of donkeys play a vital role in people's daily lives. I can never sleep on planes so thought I'd write this blog! I'm seven hours into my flight to Addis Ababa and I can see a warm orange and red glow emerging through my window as the sun begins to rise over Africa.

I attended the official opening of the Belfast Centre of our sister charity, the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys (EST) last week, 23rd June, and met two of our fantastic volunteers there.

Sheelagh and Charlie Feely made me feel so welcome and, like everyone that day, were very happy to be involved in the special occasion, attended by Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal.

We've been drawn to some recent press coverage about a donkey called Eeyore from Wilmslow who is thought to be the world's oldest donkey, at the grand age of 54!

Not far behind Eeyore is our oldest resident here at the Sanctuary, Laz. We believe he is now 51 years of age!

My office is based here at The Donkey Sanctuary’s headquarters in Sidmouth. I managed to get in this morning despite the thick snow but rather than open up my emails, I made my way with Pam (our PR Assistant) to help out with the donkeys!