Donkey-assisted therapy project for
children with disabilities in Bucharest

In the 90's the world was shocked by the pictures from Romanian orphanages but luckily the situation has greatly improved in the 21st century when foreign organizations rushed to help. Knowledge in rehabilitation, especially for handicapped children, is still poor. Voluntary work is still an unknown phenomenon in Romania and therefore the country is littered with small orphanages where the children rarely have the opportunity for activity and play.

A donkey is as good as worthless in Romania, even though it's the poor man's main working tool. Due to cooperation between several different charities a pioneering project has been developed, where these worthless donkeys have become valuable therapists for Romania's most invisible, discriminated and silenced people: the handicapped children in the orphanages.

The togetherness with the donkeys offers the children, that until now have spent their days mainly indoors, a whole new form of physical and emotional stimulus.

It's Donkey Time!