The Brooke - Bandaging a donkey's broken soul

The Lahore slum, like any other in Pakistan, is a place of flies, dirt, blistering heat and brutal monsoon rains. This is the story of cart driver Mansha and his donkey Gori, who live there.

Mansha moved into the Lahore slum after being driven by poverty to seek work in the city. Gori pulled Mansha, his wife, five children and all their belongings 70 miles from their village to their new home. Exhausted, and suffering severe dehydration in the scorching June heat, Gori was three months’ pregnant.

Hardworking donkey Gori now has a better life thanks to the Brooke

In the slum, there was so little space that Mansha had to tether Gori far from their home. Alone, and with no shade or shelter, Gori gave birth to Jugnoo.

Every working day, Jugnoo pined for his mother while she toiled hour after hour hauling stones, cement, and steel pipes from market to market. Mansha’s cart was poorly designed and progress was painful on the potholed, traffic-clogged roads.

Dehydrated and malnourished

There were no drinking troughs on those roads and, to boot, Mansha could only afford the cheapest dry feed, which he dumped beside Gori on the filthy ground. He did not realise that she was dehydrated, or that malnutrition was slowly claiming her and her foal.

Luckily, our Brooke mobile vet team reached them in time.

Our mobile vet team reached Gori and Jugnoo, and their owner Mansha, just in time.

Mansha has now learnt the importance of grooming his loyal donkey

Mansha attended the group sessions we held in the slum’s streets where we showed him how to groom Gori and clean her feet. We explained the importance of regular water, rest, shade, nutritious food and of not overloading her cart.

With our guidance, Mansha bandaged Gori’s broken soul. And the gleam in Jugnoo’s eyes tells of the happy, healthy lives he and his mother now lead.

Bandaging a donkey's broken soul - Gori's story