Kidogo Kidogo – “little by little, or step by step”

By Anya Floyd, with Dr. Martha Mellish

Our second week of donkey work has come to an end and we felt it was time to introduce both the name and the philosophy behind our project. “Kidogo Kidogo” is the Swahili term describing a gradual process; something that is achieved little by little, or step by step. We hope that by making small changes, little by little, we will be able to enact lasting change for the Donkeys of Meru County. 

Our project now totals over 220 donkeys having received tetanus vaccines, rabies vaccines, and dewormer for intestinal and lung parasites. 

Our data collection is coming to a close with upper airway endoscopies completed on 75 donkeys. We will analyze our data once we are back in Canada, and see what conclusions we can draw.

Our driver David has been phenomenal, navigating roads and traffic that seem impossible. We always arrive safely and mostly on time! Traffic in Kenya can range from what seems like hundreds of cars, lorries, and motorcycles, to a herd of goats, sheep, and cows who have no concept that they are blocking the entire road. 

The Farmers Helping Farmers staff have also been phenomenal, acting in many roles from translator, navigator, organizer, and donkey handling assistant! Their knowledge and skill is unmatched!!

We would like to thank Gikundi, Leah, Stephen, and Salome! Without them we would not have been able to accomplish so much in such a short period of time.  

Next week, we have educational seminars and donkey walk-in health clinics planned. It is hard to believe our time here is more than half over. We will be leaving with even more plans for next year. and optimism for the future of the donkeys in Meru. 

Donkey Project – Week One Success

By Anya Floyd, with Dr. Martha Mellish

The first week of our project is coming to an end, and what a week it has been! Our project has focused on completing upper airway endoscopies to assess the impacts of harness design and fit on the respiratory health of cart pulling donkeys. As well as endoscopies, every donkey we saw was vaccinated for rabies and tetanus, and was dewormed for intestinal parasites and lung worms. From each donkey, we took a fecal sample for analysis. We also performed dentistries and trimmed hooves on donkeys as needed. Our days have been filled with donkeys and their owners, and our evenings have been spent performing fecal examinations to assess the parasite load of each donkey. 

Local veterinarian Dr. Josefat Matara has been instrumental in assisting our project. His local knowledge of the donkeys and their owners has helped everything go smoothly. 

At the end of our first week, 120 donkeys have been successfully vaccinated against rabies, tetanus, and were dewormed. 

Donkey upper airway anatomy presents unique challenges during endoscopies, and Dr. Mellish’s skills were put to the test. But her experience and talent prevailed, and our donkey endoscopy technique was perfected by our second day. 

We were treated to lunch by several farmers and ended each day with smiling donkey owners. It has been such a wonderful experience to help local farmers learn about the health of their donkeys and show them how small, but impactful changes can be made to improve the health and welfare of their hard-working animals. 

This year, Meru county has had more rain, resulting in improved crops and grazing. Dr Mellish has noticed a drastic improvement in the body condition scores of the donkeys that we have so far seen, as compared to last year at this time when she was here. 

We are ending our first week inspired and excited for what is to come! The response to our project has been wonderful, owners have many questions and are excited that they can take initiative in caring for their donkeys. The combination of the Kenyan sun and happy farmers has each day left us energized and asking: “What else can we do to improve the welfare of the donkeys?” The answers we have discussed so far have been both exciting and daunting.

Donkey Project returns in 2024

Dr. Martha Mellish is part of a group of travellers who will be volunteering in Kenya in January and February 2024.