Peace and healing among the herd

After suffering with her mental health, a NHS district nurse found respite with the resident herd at our Manchester sanctuary.

Gaynor works as a sister within a small, busy nursing team in Manchester, delivering healthcare to people in her local community, including end-of-life care.

After suffering with her mental health for several years, she turned to The Donkey Sanctuary Manchester for support, a place she herself has supported for some time.

Since 2004, our regional centre in Abbey Hey has been offering a range of donkey-assisted activities to clients, which support the development of people's life skills and wellbeing. They help individuals to better deal with challenges in everyday life, while also promoting positive attitudes towards donkeys.

As part of the Donkey Assisted Activities we offer, Gaynor took part in the Wellbeing with Donkeys programme. It blends a unique range of sessions, offering the time and space for individuals to focus on developing skills around self-awareness, self-care, and work-life balance, all in natural surroundings.

When her sessions came to an end, she reflected on the journey she had been on, and the grounding impact the sessions had.

Gaynor said: “I do not know how to put it into words, it's just a beautiful thing to do because it's very ‘in the moment’. If you fully invest in it like I did, you are just in the field with the donkeys – it is so pure and simple, which is very grounding.”

Reflecting on the impact of the programme, Gaynor added: “The memories that I took from each session made me feel so relaxed and at peace. I had sessions with my therapist about two hours after being with the donkeys and I found that my head was clearer, and my thoughts made more sense. My therapist even recognised the difference in me.”

Mel McComb, former Centre Manager at our Manchester sanctuary, said: “Gaynor's journey with us and our donkeys enabled her to have some much-well needed time out in nature.

“We really enjoy working with the NHS teams and feel that our donkey-assisted activities offer something so rare in frontline services – time to stop, reflect and accept.”