The Brooke - Special care for older animals

In Kimbimbi village in Mwea, poor Kavici (whose name means ‘The Old’) was working seven to eight hours every day. He was transporting water, 43 gallons per trip, with seven trips daily. Due to fatigue, worsened by conditions linked to old age, Kavici would often stop in the middle of the road. He even collapsed a few times, causing alarm to his owner, Andrew Kimani.

Eventually Andrew bought Kavici to a community meeting attended by a Brooke team, for advice on helping him work better. We said that his donkey’s age meant he couldn’t cope with the heavy, tiring work he was doing, and advised him to let Kavici rest for many more hours than he did before.

For Andrew, this was difficult to accept at the beginning. But he eventually agreed to this, and to make some small changes so that the poor old donkey could manage better.

Andrew was advised to

Give Kavici a lighter load that he could cope with
Give him healthy, nutritious food
Ensure Kavici has shade to rest in.
Allow shorter working hours

By just taking these small steps, Andrew was able to hugely improve Kavici’s quality of life. Over the coming months, we regularly checked on Kavici and were delighted to find that his health was much better.

Kavici is a wonderful example of how the Brooke helps older donkeys and horses by showing their owners how to care for them properly.

In the coming year, we will still need to reach many more animals like poor Kavici. Like people, they deserve the very best treatment after years of hard unceasing work for their families.

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Special care for older animals - Kavici’s story