Hi! This is me with Tedele. He is the luckiest donkey in Ethiopia (Tedele means 'Lucky' in Amharic). He lives at the SPANA centre, south of Addis Ababa, where school children come to meet him and learn how important it is to care for animals. Importantly they get to meet Tedele and they see what a well-cared-for animal looks like. Tedele wasn't always so lucky and most working animals in Ethiopia are not so lucky either. There are over 11m working animals in Ethiopia that are essential to supporting families, communities and the running of the country. Animal owners can bring their donkeys and horses to this SPANA centre and other mobile clinics around Ethiopia to receive treatment. The owners also learn how to care for their animals, prevent injuries and stop the spread of illnesses - some of these like EZL and Rabies are a real problem. 

As a Trustee of SPANA, I was lucky enough to spend 3 days in Ethiopia where I saw first hand the vital role that SPANA plays. I have seen the direct impact that SPANA has on the welfare of animals and also SPANA's crucial role in changing attitudes towards working animals through both treatment and education to create a sustainable change - over 100k children in Ethiopia have received SPANA education since the start of the programme! What was really striking to me was just how engaged children and adults alike were in learning about animal welfare and also how grateful they are to SPANA for helping them help their animals. Many injuries and illnesses are entirely preventable through simple measures like padded harnesses.

You can watch a short video of my trip here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9RyKV03w7o

So I feel privileged to have seen first hand the amazing work of SPANA and to have also seen the gratitude of animal owners and the enthusiasm of children. SPANA is such an amazing charity and doesn't just do this work in Ethiopia but also in many countries around the world and I am running the London Marathon to raise even more funds for SPANA so they can continue and expand this vital work and improve the lives of working animals. Please support me to support this work. Thank you!

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