OUR IMPACT

Villagehealth

Enabling Social Prosperity

                                                         
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Eseltjiesrus Donkey Sanctuary

Strategy development



In 2022–2023, we worked with the Board and executive management team of the Eseltjiesrus Donkey Sanctuary to develop their strategy. Located in McGregor in South Africa’s Western Cape, Eseltjiesrus promotes the status and welfare of donkeys while providing a permanent home and loving care to destitute, rescued donkeys. Our work with Eseltjiesrus focussed on exploring alternate pathways to expanding the reach and securing the long-term effectiveness and sustainability of the organisation. The founder and chairperson of the Board of Eseltjiesrus, Johan van Zijl, had this to say:



They initiated a research-based survey titled 'Re-imagining the Future'. This involved intensive research on Eseltjiesrus, coupled with structured interviews with personnel and Board members. Regular feedback sessions were the norm, culminating in a final reporting session, again to staff and Board members. This was followed by an outstanding, insightful and user-friendly final report. We have commenced with the implementation of the proposed operational plan and look forward with great anticipation to a secured future for our organisation.

One Health Solutions in Vrygrond

Community ownership and skills development

In 2023–2024, we partnered with two community-embedded, animal welfare organisations, Afripaw and TEARS, in Vrygrond, Cape Town. We worked with their established network of pet care ambassadors to identify the key challenges community members experienced with respect to living with and caring for domestic animals. The community surveys we conducted highlighted serious environmental issues, such as growing rat populations and the proliferation of disposable nappies on open dumps. A One Health Innovation Group was created to develop potential solutions to prioritised problems. The group has successfully run community clean-ups to raise awareness around One Health issues and are actively engaged in crafting and piloting further waste management solutions. This work was funded by the National Research Foundation’s South Africa Agency for Science and Technology (NRF-SAASTA) under its ‘Bringing Science to Communities’ programme. 

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Photo credit: Rene Ronge

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Donkey Care Workers in Limpopo

Network establishment


Working donkeys are essential to sustaining the livelihoods of villagers in the Blouberg area of rural Limpopo. They are used to transport people, water, and firewood and are also used for ploughing. Donkey owners earn direct income by hiring the animals out for these services. However, due to the remoteness of the region and the pervasive lack of resources, donkey owners have little to no access to veterinary care for their animals. With funding from the Donkey Sanctuary (2020–2022) and Spana (2023–2024), we trained 20 donkey care workers who provide services to donkey owners across 10 villages in the Blouberg area. These donkey care workers conducted surveys to better understand the needs of donkeys and donkey owners and to position themselves to be able to earn a modest income from their services.