News from the West Bank
Many of our supporters have been asking about Dr Rakan’s background and how he came to work at Safe Haven. He told us:
“I graduated in 2012 and started volunteering at Safe Haven for two months whilst working in a veterinary pharmacy. Over ten years later I’m now the lead vet in the West Bank and have my dream job!”
“It was always my dream to be a veterinarian – since I was a child I have had so many animals: dogs, cats, pigeons, parrots, canaries, fish and hamsters! My family also had horses. I remember once that one of the horses was sick, so sick he couldn’t stand up. A vet arrived but sadly the horse was in an advanced stage of colic. But this is when I first thought – I want to be a vet.”
“And now my dream is real – I’m now a vet who specialises in equine medicine and surgery in our Palestinian community across the West Bank.”
“The best thing about my job? It’s helping all the working animals – particularly those abandoned in the streets and mountains. We give donkeys the best lives they deserve, where they can find the love and care they need for the rest of their lives.”
We will bring you the rest of Dr Rakan’s interview next week – so look out for your donkey update email!
News from El Saf, Egypt
Over in El Saf, Egypt, our new vet team (shown above) are already helping so many donkeys and mules who desperately need veterinary care – all thanks to our supporters.
This included a donkey with a nasty abscess in his hoof. This is a penetrating wound caused by a muddy stable and then working in a sandy environment. The photo below shows the hoof last week after being cleaned, before bandaging.
The team have already seen a huge improvement in his lameness. even though the sole is still soft and needs more time for full keratinisation (to harden into a hoof).
We are pleased to say that the owner took the advice Dr Shaaban gave him, giving the donkey complete rest and changing the stable floor to prevent further mud. Educating the owners in best practice donkey care is a key part of our work.
As we are starting to reach out to more brick kilns, we’re finding the animal welfare situation is worse than originally thought.
So please know your support will make a massive difference to the donkeys and mules of El Saf.
Once again we would like to say a big thank you to you, our supporters. It’s only with your help we are able to care for the donkeys at the Sanctuary in Israel, as well as commit to helping working donkeys in the West Bank – and also our new project in Egypt.
Thanks to you we are helping so many donkeys in dire need of veterinary care – just like this donkey in El Saf shown above. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.