Donkey carts are ubiquitous in The Gambia. You see them up country and you see them in the city. I was recently in Soma and was with another volunteer who lives there. She was buying food for her host family to use during Ramadan as silifando (a gift). The families all fast during the daylight hours but have better food than usual during the Ramadan after they break fast so Natasha had purchased a big bag of onions, 3 liters of vegetable oil, some spices and vegetables for her family. Instead of throwing the purchases in the trunk of a car ala America, it was time to use the donkey cart. This donkey cart was driven by a boy who looked to be about 9 or 10 years old along with his younger brother. In the picture below you can see Natasha and the younger brother plus the purchases loaded on the cart.
We proceeded from that point and the first thing the boy did was smack the donkey with a stick which made no change in the donkey's pace. We told him we would pay him extra if he did not hit the donkey. He sneaked in a few more swats but seemed okay to let the donkey go at his pace. I feel sorry for the donkeys -- they are pretty stupid but they have a hard life. The picture below is my action shot. I was just behind the driver on the right hand side.
You can see that the donkey does not seem to have a bunch of open sores (which some do) so I don't think he usually gets beaten too hard. Slowly and steadily we finally made it to Natasha's house and presented the silifando. Her family was very happy.
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