On Friday 4th July, the UK-based Donkey Sanctuary will be holding a special 21st anniversary celebration at its centre on Lamu Island, Kenya, where donkeys are more popular than cars.
The Independence Day for the Lamu Donkeys event is being held by the charity's workers who help care and protect the 2,000 donkeys living on the island; the town's streets are too narrow for cars and therefore, only two vehicles are believed to exist.
Amongst the celebrations, attended by the charity's staff, religious leaders and locals, will be a special dance called an Uta and a show depicting how life can be easier if owners care for their donkeys properly.
Abdalla Rifai, who runs the Lamu Sanctuary, says: "This is a very special celebration for me as I have been involved since the very first day when the Sanctuary's Founder, Dr Elisabeth Svendsen visited to look for donkeys.
I have seen many changes over the years and one of our successes is that we have helped reduce the traditional practice of bleeding a donkey, or burning them with hot irons to treat illness; now donkey owners come to us for help."
The Donkey Sanctuary's project in Lamu and surrounding islands costs up to £74,000 to run each year and it relies entirely on donations to continue work there.
Having just returned from a trip to Lamu I just wanted to say that in all my travels I have never seen so many donkeys in such good condition! It was wonderful to see them at the Sanctuary, waiting under the trees for "trade" and working as well. We were very amused to hear that apparently of the two vehicles allowed on Lamu [if you discount the tractor] one is an ambulance not, as we assumed, for humans but for the donkeys! You are doing a brilliant job.