Xmas gift ideas from Safe Haven for Donkeys

Xmas gift ideas: adopt a donkey or give a virtual “Gift That Brings Smiles”

Safe Haven for Donkeys is a UK charity providing veterinary care for the thousands of donkeys and mules working in Israel and the Palestinian Territories (West Bank) and more recently in the brick kilns in Egypt. 

Make a donkey smile this Christmas by purchasing one of the charity’s special gifts. Adopt a donkey for the animal lover in your life or purchase a virtual gift for the donkeys in the form of vouchers - these gifting options will bring some much-needed help for the donkeys in Egypt, Israel and the West Bank.

For just £3 a month, or £36 a year, you can give the donkeys the love and care they need. These long-suffering donkeys need all the medical care and attention we can offer them, to help recover from the terrible conditions and lack of care they have sadly grown used to. After helping them back to health, they can now live a happier life at the sanctuary. 

Donkey adoptions make a fantastic gift for animal lovers of any age and you can choose your own donkey from the link here. From baby donkeys to the older drove of retirees, there’s bound to be a donkey that appeals especially to you - perhaps the aptly named Noelle?

The adoption pack

With every adoption you receive:

• A photo of your adopted donkey
• A record card
• An adoption certificate
• An ‘I’ve Adopted a Donkey’ window sticker
• A small cuddly donkey (UK only)
• Updates on your adopted donkey

Virtual gift ideas from Safe Haven for Donkeys

Gifts That Bring Smiles - choose a gift voucher to bring a smile to the face of the recipient, as well as a donkey, this Christmas! Starting at just £5, there is a range of virtual gifts that you can buy for the donkeys to enjoy. We have put together a few of the most popular virtual gifts at a range of prices and each comes with a gift card for the recipient.

Milk for a baby - £8

Who could resist helping an abandoned baby donkey who needs to be bottle-fed, to ensure they put on vital weight and have the best chance of developing into a healthy, strong adult? 

Care for a donkey - £10

Safe Haven’s mobile vet team in Egypt frequently encounter wounds that come from poorly fitting harnesses, and from beatings. You can help by funding soothing iodine, zinc ointment and other treatments.

A bed for the night - £15

When donkeys first arrive at the rescue centre, they are often tired, undernourished and suffering with wounds or injuries. Comfy bedding and a safe roof over their weary heads can make all the difference, instantly making them feel more comfortable.  

Dinner for a donkey - £20

Donkeys love nothing more than chomping on fresh hay, their tails swishing with joy. It’s the perfect food for them, full of roughage, nutrition and energy. This gift will feed a donkey for a week.

Help with harnessing - £50

The donkeys and mules that work in the searing desert heat in the brick kilns of El Saf, in Egypt, pull heavy carts of bricks. You could pay for two new harnesses to be made and fitted, preventing horrific wounds.

To see the full range of “Gifts That Bring Smiles” visit here. 

Where Safe Haven works

The sanctuary in Israel where around 200 donkeys could be cared for at one time, needs constant attention if it’s to remain a safe home for the donkeys who live there. These virtual gifts and any funds raised help keep the sanctuary running safely and for the donkeys to have the medical care they need, as well as keeping them fed and sheltered.

At any given day at the Nablus rescue centre in Palestine, around 30 donkeys are fed, brushed, loved and cared for. These are animals who’ve been found abandoned – often injured – or rescued from owners who could not feed or care for them properly.  

In 2023, the charity began to fund a mobile clinic in the El Saf region of Egypt, where they visit around 120 of the brick kilns in the area and bring relief from pain and suffering to the thousands of donkeys which toil relentlessly. These animals have not received treatment for many years, due to a region-wide lack of available expertise, and are suffering unimaginable pain due to harness and saddle wounds, beatings, teeth and hoof issues and parasitic diseases spread by flies.

Safe Haven for Donkeys has support from a mix of British actors, broadcasters and presenters, including Kay Burley, Anthony Head, Jan Leeming and Peter Egan. 

https://www.safehaven4donkeys.org/ and to donate here.

Ends

Editors notes

Safe Haven for Donkeys was set up in 2000 to help the thousands of working donkeys in Israel and the Palestinian Territories (West Bank).

Today, the sanctuary in Israel is providing life-long care to nearly 200 unwanted and abused donkeys of all ages but the charity’s work does not stop at the sanctuary gates.

Each month, their three mobile clinics help many hundreds of working donkeys, mules and horses across the Palestinian Territories and they also have a permanent clinic in the Palestinian city of Nablus. Common injuries such as those from poor harnessing, overgrown hooves and bad teeth are easily treatable and go a long way in improving the lives of the animals who work so hard for so little.

Advice and education are key parts of Safe Haven’s work with the owners and their children. Through their dedication and gentle approach, their teams have made many friends and are treated with trust and respect.

In 2023, after being approached by a veterinary surgeon in Egypt, they began working with an Egyptian partner organisation to ease the pain and suffering of the donkeys in the brick kilns in the El Saf region.