Ethiopia | Brooke Skip to content Ethiopia With one of the highest population of equines in the world, Ethiopia naturally has some particular animal welfare needs. Brooke Ethiopia has been working on these since the first project started in 2006. Tabs About At a glance Ethiopia has a very high level of equine ownership, with over 2.2 million horses, 8.8 million donkeys, and 0.4 million mules. There are around one million cart donkeys and 250,000 cart horses in different parts of the country serving millions. Brooke has improved the welfare of over half a million working equids in Ethiopia, including those in the most hard to reach areas. Part of this focus has been the creation of equine shelters and water points, directly supporting over 132,000 equids. Take a closer look Ethiopia is the second-most populous nation in Africa after Nigeria, and has the fastest growing economy in the region. However, it is also one of the poorest, with a per capita income of $783 (World Bank 2019). In rural Ethiopia, equines transport water, grains, fuel wood and agricultural products. In urban areas, they transport goods and people. Although equines play a crucial role in the national economy, their welfare is extremely poor, especially in urban areas. Predominant welfare issues include wounds, eye problems, lameness, hoof problems, parasites and poor body condition. How it all started Brooke began working in Ethiopia back in 2006. At that time we were operational in only four woredas (districts) in Southern regional state, but currently the organization is operating in 13 different woredas across three regions (Oromia, Amhara, and Southern Regional state). We have intervention areas in 27 woredas, and there are also another 16 new intervention areas planned. Equines are more than just a domestic animal in Ethiopia - their existence in the community is helpful in so many ways. There are about one million cart donkeys and 250,000 cart horses working all day long. On average, one donkey serves up to three families at a time. These equines work in harsh conditions and there are many welfare issues that need to be addressed with Brooke’s intervention. How we are helping today Our goal is to improve the welfare of 446,681 working equines in Ethiopia, including those most hard-to-reach (who number 17,468). We will achieve this by: working with equine owners, users and handlers to improve their welfare practices and the livelihood of equine owners working with local animal health practitioners, including vets, farriers, cart-makers and saddlers to ensure good quality services are available for working animals supporting the improvement of equine facilities such as shelters, water points and service centres working to increase the access communities have to equine medicines through the Drug and Vaccine Revolving Fund (DVRF) initiative raising the profile of equine welfare in government policy and legal frameworks Partners Brooke Ethiopia works in partnership with Ripple Effect (the new name for Send a Cow) to improve the welfare of equines in Ziway (in Oromia regional state) and Dawuro zone (in Southern regional state). Find out more about our work in Ethiopia Tel: +251 116610069 [email protected] House No. 797, Woreda 3, Bole sub-city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Our work Improving conditions for gharry (taxi) horses Over the past 15 years, Brooke Ethiopia has made significant progress in addressing the needs of these extremely vulnerable horses through the creation of gharry horse associations and by encouraging authorities to adopt bylaws to regulate the operation. Working with equine owners We work with equine owners and users to share knowledge and understanding of good equine health and husbandry practices. This includes promoting practices such as wound management, eye cleaning, watering, feeding, grooming and hoof picking, and discouraging practices like beating and overloading. Working with change agents and animators The working structure we have developed creates a place for change agents (voluntary community-champions for equine welfare) and animators (who train the change agents) and is designed to work directly with rural communities. Brooke trains animators and change agents to pass on knowledge, equipping them with useful tools such as simple, pictorial guides on how to improve equine welfare. Under one animator there are 20 change agents and under every change agent there are five followers who communicate Brooke’s message directly to the community. Increasing access to equine medicines Brooke Ethiopia works to increase the access owners have to equine’s medicines, through Drug and Vaccine Revolving Fund (DVRF) initiative. The funds provide a supply of drugs for livestock and Brooke works to ensure they also include medicines for equines. Shelter construction The absence of shelter is a major cause of welfare problems for equines in Ethiopia, as they suffer under harsh weather and attack from predators. Due to a lack of awareness and income difficulties, owners often fail to provide shelter for their equines, which is why we built nine shelters in the Oromia and Southern regional states. Animal health centres The animal health sector in Ethiopia has been neglected for many years, and this is especially true of equine health. With this in mind, Brooke is investing in the equine health sector. We provide financial support for a sustainable animal drug supply system, training for veterinarians, and most importantly we build animal health centres. So far we have constructed 27 health centres in Oromia, Amhara and Southern regional state. We also provide periodic training for the crucial parts of our mission veterinarians. We have equipped 321 health post professionals with the necessary skills, and these professionals are currently working in heath posts located in Adaba, Dodola, Bule, Gedeb Hassasa, Gedeb, Halaba, Kofele, Qore, Shala and Siraro woredas of Oromia and Southern regional state. Water projects In rural Ethiopia, women and children often walk more than three hours to collect water, sometimes from shallow wells or unprotected ponds they share with animals. Animals, especially equines, are the ones who face the biggest health challenges caused by water shortage, with Colic being one of the most common conditions. To improve safe water accessibility both for peoples and animals, Brooke has been developing spring waters and constructing water troughs, water points, water reservoirs and water line extensions. So far Brooke has constructed 16 water projects in Oromia and Southern regional state. Success stories A Second Chance at Life For the last five years he was the backbone of the family. He runs here and there making some daily money, bringing something to the table. As long as he is there they are fine: at least daily bread is not that problematic. As he is the major income source and satisfies their basic need they call him Molalign (meaning the one who fulfills and satisfies one's need). Tesfaw Andualem, caretaker and owner of Molalign, is a father of three and lives in Debre Markos, a town in the Amhara region around 300km from Addis Ababa. He says, "Molalign was my everything".  Suddenly one morning Molalign was lame and could not pull the gharry (a people-carrying cab) as usual, leading to shockwaves in the family. Though he was taken to the local clinic for treatment and relief, his conditions worsened from day to day due to a hoof abscess and awful pus oozing from his front right hoof. The condition was beyond the local provider’s capacity, and as Tesfaw thought he wouldn’t survive the wound he decided to take good care of him until his final days. As their major income source, when he fell sick they felt the impact very badly. They had to face the bitter truth of life without Molalign’s help. Tesfaw was forced to borrow some money from the bank to purchase a replacement horse, and their livelihood started reviving a little. Yet it was not enough to provide for all the family. As Tesfaw and his family have a special attachment with Molalign they kept him safe for quite some time. The size of the house was too small to host two horses alongside the family. Given the limited income and family size, they realised that they couldn’t afford to take care of Molalign any longer. Eventually they had to make the hardest decision, and they were forced to abandon Molalign. “It was the hardest thing to do. We were all emotional on that day,” said Tesfaw. Watching the physically challenged Molalign on the street suffering was the hardest feeling. As no one was there to take care of him his condition was getting worse and even more complicated as time wore on. The prolonged suffering was painful for Tesfaw to witness. “I couldn't stand to watch him suffer every day. I wished for him to have a peaceful sleep and not to wake up,” said Tesfaw, broken-hearted and tearing. Meanwhile the Brooke Ethiopia team was in Debre Markos conducting capacity-building training. Local gharry owners were among the trainees catching up on equine best treatment skills. Many horses with serious physical conditions were treated on the spot, and luckily the abandoned Molalign was one of them. He was given pain relievers, his hoof abscess well-drained, flushed, and bandaged with five days follow-up treatment by the team. According to Dr. Gebeyehhu Dilnesaw (Brooke Ethiopia staff), Molalign’s sole was drilled over by an unknown object and developed infection through time. It took only a week for Molalgine to touch the ground once again. Three months after the treatment, Ato Tesfaw came to the Brooke Ethiopia office to report the health condition of Molalign. He said, ‘’Molalign is completely recovered. Now he is back to business and strong as before. Now we are using the two horses in a shift.” The abandoned horse on death row miraculously got a second chance. Molalign has rejoined his family, as he gains his strength back and he is serving them well. As a result, their quality of life has changed for the better, and due to the training Tesfaw knows how to take good care of his equines.  For both parties, this appears as a win-win solution. Tesfaw expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Brooke, saying "your intervention has had a direct impact on our life. Thanks to the training we know how to take care of our equines and clean hooves regularly to avoid similar conditions". Livestock owners no longer overloading their equids It goes without saying that animal health clinics should be free from pollution and contamination as much as possible, and securing this requires a well-developed water infrastructure. Until recently, there was no reliable water source at the Kofele clinic in Ethiopia which has meant that animal health practitioners must choose between compromising service quality and traveling long distances to fetch water. The Kofele clinic team came up with an idea to assure contamination-free animal health services with a low-cost water resource. They installed manually pulled hydro technology machine pumps 13 metres underground. This technology has now been installed across three clinics, with each installation taking only a maximum of three days and 12,000ETB (just under £200) to complete. After a month in operation, it is serving thousands of equines along with other animals who are now able to drink and quench their thirst at the in-built water trough. And above all, it is assisting animal health practitioners in giving animals the best quality healthcare possible. Water for Life Mothers who live in the rural areas are the most disadvantaged part of the community relative to those living urban areas. They make an extraordinary effort to keep a functional family. Their everyday life is full of hard labour that drains their physical and mental energies. Collecting water is one of the hardest burdens they face. Because of the poor infrastructure distributions, they have to walk miles for hours just to collect a gallon of water. Clean water shortage is the primary reason for many school dropouts and waterborne diseases. Meko Abe, 30, a mother of six, lives in Gedeb Hasasa woreda of the Oromia regional state. As she lives near to a small stream, trekking for hours is not her problem. But even for her, access to safe water is still an enormous challenge. “We would wake up before the dawn and rush to the stream, before the traffic went crazy. But if we miss the window, that’s it, we will end up losing half of our day waiting for hours in the queue,” said Meko. According to her, as the stream is the only water source for hundreds of families living in the woreda many people would gather around the stream from earlier in the morning to the evening. Following the time-honoured saying 'first come first served', they would wake up around 4am or before to avoid the longest queue. This stream is located in a very dangerous place between a rocky mountain and a tricky gorge. It is terrifying to stand on the spot, and as the water flow is much thinner than a regular stream, it takes a long time to fill even a tiny jar. The overall situation irritates people easily, even the slightest disagreement would end up in a big fight. "They fight over everything and end up with a broken nose, legs, or some terrible injuries. We are the regular people who sit down with the disputed people to reconcile," said Alemu Lema, the villager. Despite the fight, people would lose balance over the slippery slope and sustain multiple injuries. During winter, things would get much worse. "We have to pass over the gorge to get to the stream. During the winter season, the gorge will be over flooded, making it hard to find a safe pass. We hold hand to hand so that we would survive the flood,'' Meko remembers. Animals would end up in the gorge. According to Alemu, recently, a pregnant woman fell over the rocky ground, and her baby was injured. The community has to go through all this trouble just for a gallon of water. This was the case for so many years. But now, thanks to Brooke’s effort and its history, things have changed for the better. Previously, animals had to go down to the gorge to drink dirty water. But now, they are enjoying safe water within their comfort zone. The committee members keep the water troughs clean and full. The newly constructed Taye spring water development is serving the community.  It consists of water reservoir, two water points and two water troughs that guarantees easy access. There are 1,950 households and 2,546 equines who benefit from the project. "I'm very grateful for what Brooke Ethiopia did for us. Because of Brooke, we are drinking safe and clean water. We don't have to worry about the dangerous gorge anymore. For a woman like me, this is an enormous relief.’’ Meko Abe, a mother of six from Gedeb Hasasa See also Ethiopia's stone carrying donkeys How Brooke has helped improve conditions for stone carrying donkeys in Ethiopia. Challenges One step to regulate the animal transport sector In Ethiopia there are millions of equines pulling carts, transporting people and goods from A to B, galloping everywhere, bridging major gaps in economic activity. Accessing places where road infrastructure is a rarity. This is an undeniable truth, and yet the system doesn't recognize these working animals as part of the greater economy. A driving license isn't mandatory in this business - anyone with a gharry horse can join with no prerequisites. Brooke Ethiopia's research into the animal welfare problems that go along with this activity shows that the root causes are systemic. Changing centuries-old attitudes requires persistent and strong advocacy work, and Brooke Ethiopia has worked on this challenge since 2009. We have seen some positive outcomes already, as focused intervention is being carried out in the Halaba woreda (district) of the Southern regional state, Kofele, Adaba, and Dodola of the Oromia regional state. Over the years, Brooke Ethiopia has worked tirelessly for the recognition of this old-fashioned means of transportation and one way or another they succeeded. In ten woredas across the country, especially, Halaba, Kofele, Adaba, and Dodola this mode was recognized as part of the formal system. The recognition gives room for the regulatory system to function properly and keep equines safe. The major milestone in the sector was made in the Southern regional state in 2013. In this historic ruling, the regional government approved a proclamation that governs equine-based transportations. This proclamation addressed several equine welfare concerns: Restricts careless owners from using wounded equines for transportation and engaging them in any hard labor. Using equines with weak physical conditions and health problems is also prohibited under this law. Bars owners from using underage equines for gharry work. Limits the minimum working age to six years for mules and horses and four for donkeys. Working equines after 6pm is a punishable offense. Overloading is also a serious issue the proclamation deals with. Drivers have to attain the legal age and are required to secure a driving license, and it is mandatory for gharrys to have a plate number and meet the necessary safety procedures. Individuals who found bypassing the law will be subjected to steep fines and criminal charges. Though there is a big gap in implementing the laws we consider the initiative as a major milestone to equine welfare. Future plans Brooke Ethiopia is striving to improve the welfare situation of over 455,000 working equines and livelihood situation of equine owners living in 13 Woredas. And now we are scaling up our operation in another 16 new woredas. This will increase our reach from 455,000 to over one million working equines in the coming four years. Intervention work Brooke Ethiopia’s intervention can be traced in 27 woredas. We finalised and exited our project in 14 woredas of Sidama, Hadiya, Wolaita, Gurage, and Silte. Currently we are working in 13 woredas of South (Halaba, Bule, and Gedeb), Oromia (Adaba, Dodola, Gedebe Hasasa, Qore, Kofele, Shala and Siraro) and Amhara (Gozamin, Enemay and Awobel) regional states. There are also 16 new intervention areas in the existing three regional states. WhatsApp Mail Jobs Terms & conditions Privacy statement Our fundraising promise FAQs Media enquiries Brooke Netherlands Brooke USA Close modal