Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust

Welcome To Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust

The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust (GHDT) is a UK and Banjul based and registered animal charity in The Gambia that helps sick, malnourished and neglected draft animals.  The project was founded in 2002 by the late Stella Marsden and her sister Heather Armstrong.

The association welcomes volunteers, medical supplies,  accepts gift aid and online donations via various charity donation websites such as JustGiving UK.

When the animal charity first started working in The Gambia they asked farmers in their area what they wanted most and the majority said veterinary support to tackle injury and diseases such as African Horse Sickness, Equine Influenza, West Nile virus (WNV, Sleeping Sickness, tick fever etc. The GHDT started by providing basic veterinary treatment by volunteer vets from the United Kingdom who also provided essential training to their local employees.

The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust knew it was vital to deal with animal management and nutrition as many of the issues they see with donkeys and horses arise as a result of rural poverty. It also assists with community development programs in order to stimulate the economy of the local community.

The aim of the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust is to provide Gambians with the necessary training to tackle problems on their own, so they received help from the World Horse Welfare which is an international horse charity headquartered in the UK which helps train harness producers and farriers. The animal charity provided scholarships for people to train as paraveterinary workers and it partnered with the School of Veterinary Science at the University of Liverpool to provide training to locals on equines.

The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust also provides workshops for farmers groups and offer training to people. It also started teaching in local schools and through their Donkey Club it works with boys who normally care for village donkeys.

Every year the GHDT  puts on a horse show competition which, as well as being enjoyable, is also used as a chance to get as much animal care information over to the participants and spectators as possible.

The charity has simple laboratory and hospital facilities as well as mobile clinics, accommodation for volunteers and stables for around 25 animals in Sambel Kunda. In the course of treating the numerous diseases affecting donkeys and horses they discovered that little was known about some of them. As a result the Universities of Liverpool and Glasgow intervened with assistance from the Veterinary Laboratories Agency and are providing help and research that is needed to aid farmers.

With the exception of the local Gambian staff all other work is carried out by volunteers. As a result they welcome online donations which can carry out by credit card or debit card as well as by direct debit. You can also sponsor a horse or donkey for an annual fee.

You are welcome to GHDT