The Sidmouth-based Donkey Sanctuary has recently moved into a problem-hotspot in northern Ethiopia to tackle donkey welfare issues through a combined approach of veterinary intervention and community education.

The Sidmouth-based Donkey Sanctuary celebrated International Day of the Donkey on Saturday 8th May by talking to 350 of its supporters taking part in this year’s Donkey Week about the overseas aspect of its work.

Our overseas teams often find themselves up against deep-rooted negative attitudes towards donkeys, which lead people to undervalue their hard-working animals and make them hard to convince that the donkeys deserve better care. One of our teams in Ethiopia have come up with an unusual way to change people’s thinking within this culture.

A new radio show on donkey care is being broadcast in Ethiopia as one of The Donkey Sanctuary's latest initiatives to improve donkey welfare in the northern regional state of Tigray.

Sitting here on my porch, at the Ghion Hotel, Bahirdar, in Ethiopia. I'm trying to write a blog, but struggling. I'm sitting in one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to, from here I can see flower filled gardens, the thatched round house that's a bar, and, beyond, the waters of Lake Tana.

"Life is like a toilet roll, the nearer the end you get, the faster it goes" I read that somewhere just recently, and it appears to have lodged in my brain, now I hope I've still got a fair bit of roll left, at least a third or so, but it's so true, time flies past now, and I can't believe that I haven't done a blog since last august!