Our Growing Family

Last Thursday at 3 am (or “nine” in the evening, Swahili time) everyone on campus awoke to the same noise. Imagine what it would sound like if a seal was being strangled while giving birth next to a foghorn, and all of that was amplified through a loudspeaker inches from your sweet, slumbering ear. That’s kind of what it sounds like when a donkey gives birth. You can ask anyone here, because WE KNOW.

Of course, our lost sleep was (mostly) forgotten the following morning when we all went down to the donkey pen to see this new darling of campus, the baby of Winnie the Donkey and her mate, Santa.

A wise woman once said, “all baby things are cute.” (For the record, that wise woman needs to get on a plane bound for Kitongo, PRONTO. Love you, Rex!) In this case, I can say she is most certainly correct. The uncertain look, wobbly gait and incredibly soft fur of our baby donkey is totally cute.

For the past five days, we’ve all been enjoying our new friend. Meanwhile, there has been an ongoing campaign to name Winnie’s baby. So far, “Gertrude” has been the strongest contender, though the name may have been appropriated for another important purpose that this blog shall not seek to elaborate upon.

But with ears like this girl has, who cares what her name is? At any rate, you can see that Winnie’s baby is much-loved here on campus.

Welcome to the JBFC family, little one!