Putting Papis on the road to recovery

12-year-old Papis has worked hard all his life. Every day he hauls a two-wheeled cart through the streets for his owner, Oumar, in Mauritania.

It’s exhausting work. Oumar’s job is to distribute water to families, so there are two massive water barrels on the back of the cart, each weighing up to 150kg. Even though Papis is old and struggles to pull the cart, Ogetimageumar can’t afford to buy a younger, stronger donkey.

When the vet examined Papis he found wounds exuding pus on his withers, together with bruising over his spine. The cause was a badly fitted harness. The movement of this harness rubbing against the open sores must have been excruciatingly painful for Papis.