Top vets support new centre in Gambia for Ockley-based charity

The vets, who live busy lives, gave up their precious spare time to raise funds shared between GHDT and Smile Train. They travelled over 2,700 miles in 16 days on motorbikes and delivered a total of 80 hours of CPD (continuing professional development) to up to 600 vets at 8 venues – that’s 48,000 continuing professional development hours! It was a wonderful way to raise funds for animal welfare and has also spread more knowledge to vets across Europe. Not only did the vets raise a substantial amount of money for the construction of the new centre at Makasutu, but it also gave a very big boost to the morale of the staff at The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust who are proud that such eminent veterinarians think their work is worthy of such support.

The Trust hopes that this centre can not only provide treatment for the horses and donkeys but offer a facility where local people can learn skills such as harnessing and farriery. They hope to start with 20 loose boxes to house the in-patients and are expecting to see different challenges by being based in a more urban area including more injuries from traffic accidents, as well as their usual tropical disease issues.

This new centre will be able to provide facilities to carry out more surgical procedures by increasing links with the British veterinary profession. The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust hopes that the new centre will be used as a resource for not only students at the University of The Gambia but also as a training centre to assist with the building of The Gambia’s veterinary capacity by holding regular continuing professional development courses there with the assistance of the overseas veterinary trainers who regularly visit in a voluntary capacity to further the work of The Trust. If you are interested to find out more about The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust or would like to help by fundraising please visit www.gambiahorseanddonkey.org.uk.

Contributed by The Gambia Horse and

Donkey Trust