News

When you open the fridge and find that the brown sauce bottle is empty – there is no choice. Even in a war zone. A journey to the supermarket calls….

And thankfully for a little male pup; around 5 months old and suffering from the early onset of leishmaniosis it was a journey that meant Pen was exiting the Nowzad van just as the pup stuck its head out of the drain outside of the supermarket where it was foraging for any left-over food that had been casually dumped.

Time to forget about the woes of the world for five minutes and let’s celebrate a few of our successful rescues that did manage to travel to their forever homes during 2020 and the early part of this year.
With airlines suspending operations all over the world, just as they are doing again now, it seemed at times; as if we would never have the opportunity to fly them out.

Well 2020 is finally in the rear view mirror and for many of us, the promised salvation of 2021 sadly never brought the relief from the pandemic that we had all hoped for.
Most will still be reading this in some form of lockdown…. Here in Kabul is it no different.

A working donkey has no life in Afghanistan – just toil, pain and a never ending slog along roads crammed with cars or up torturous slopes to reach the mountain villages that surround Kabul.

Nowzad has finally gained permission to roll out our working animal programme across all of Kabul. Our team led by Dr Reshad is super excited and eager to lend these overworked donkeys a hoof…(see what we did there?)

The Nowzad charity was extremely fortunate to be supported with a grant by 353 (an amazing and dedicated charity promoting the legacy of Private Conrad Lewis of the Parachute Regiment; killed in action in Helmand in 2011 – ‘Get busy living’); to deliver veterinary internships at our clinic in Kabul.

Meet the Nowzad team is proud to introduce Juma!
Always going above and beyond what we ask of him and always with a huge smile Juma is the man charged with feeding the animals at the Nowzad clinic! ‘

Meet the Nowzad team is proud to introduce!
Meet Dr Hamida! One of the amazing veterinary team at the Nowzad clinic.
25 year old Hamida probably favours dogs over cats although she has cats herself at home!

Meet the Nowzad team is proud to introduce Zakia.
Working behind the scenes to prepare the dog food; wash the blankets used in the kennels and the clinic, ensure staff scrubs are clean and pressed, whilst also ensuring the main house is kept hoovered and dust free. 

So jumping into a swimming pool recently cleared of ice is probably not everyone’s idea of a fun way to spend New Year’s day morning, but that is what Nowzad founder Pen Farthing did whilst at the shelter in Kabul to raise money for Nowzad!!
 

Thank you for all the amazing and super generus supporters who donated for the animals in our care Christmas dinners - you are all amazing! Thank you!

With the current situation, fundraising for the Nowzad shelter and clinic in Afghanistan has been quite the challenge!

Thankfully, we have some amazing support from folks like Nowzad Hero and racing champion Dakota Dickerson, who for the third-year running is undertaking the ‘Paws on a Race car’ fundraiser for Nowzad!

The 28^th September was #worldrabiesday and our team in Kabul sure made the most of it to raise awareness of this deadly disease.

• Nowzad Veterinarians Dr Reshad and Dr Hamida were interviewed on 1TV’s morning show highlighting the dangers of rabies and describing Nowzad’s important work to prevent it.

Do you have space in your heart and home for these special rescues? These are just two of the many amazing four legged companions that are available for adoption from the Nowzad shelter! Please our adoption page for more details by clicking here

Add some sunshine into your life by adopting Kurshid!

Can you leave a gift of hope to Nowzad to ensure that we can still be here for the animals with no voice but yours?

Pen. the founder of the Nowzad charity and former Royal Marine; 'Well, as I guess you are all too aware, we cannot take our money with us when we pass on and so when family and friends have been cared for why not consider leaving a gift of hope to the Nowzad charity?'

A VERY SPECIAL GIFT!

We couldn’t think of a better time to share the rescue story of this gorgeous girl with you!

Earlier in the year Pen and Mujtaba were on their way to the shelter when a stray dog in the most horrendous condition ran in front of the Nowzad van.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who took part in the FIRST EVER NOWZAD T-SHIRT DAY! 👕

We loved seeing the photos of our Nowzad Family spreading the word of Nowzad’s vital work all over the world!

Nowzad sponsored dog walk is an exciting event happening across the globe over the month of Nowztember (September 2020!)
We have set the challenge of attempting to collectively walk the same amount of miles as it is from the UK to the town of ‘Now Zad’ in Afghanistan where our charity’s story began.

Nowzad rescues Lucy Pearl and Onyx, tiny puppies rescued from a forward operating base in southern Afghanistan and Tank cat need your support to be reunited with their soldier rescuers. 

🚨 EMERGENCY APPEAL UPDATE 🚨

Nowzad is being stretched to our limits as the Coronavirus crisis in Afghanistan worsens.

With many of our team being directly affected by the deadly virus, we have made the difficult decision to continue to keep as many of our staff in lockdown as we can to ensure the 200+ rescued and rehabilitating animals in our care are well looked after.

*Please note that some may find the details of this rescue distressing*

This gentle giant came into our care when Nazeer; our donkey sanctuary hand, called the clinic concerned that he’d seen a big, old dog on the street near the sanctuary with a large growth on his neck.

Our Veterinary team rushed out to find the dog – although he was large, he was extremely friendly and came with us back to the clinic without any fuss.

Nowzad Food Aid Lid

Feeding a dog or cat at the Nowzad shelter in Afghanistan is as easy as buying one of these!

Keep your’s or your pet’s can of food fresh and feed a dog or cat at the Nowzad shelter at the same time!

We are super pleased to publish the winners of the FIRST EVER Nowzad writing competition! Thank you to everyone who donned their thinking caps - put pen to paper and sent us their ‘tail’ - our team really did enjoy reading through them all! We hope you enjoy reading the winning three entries posted below!

Thank you to everyone who has asked and shown concern for our shelter, sanctuary and clinic at this worrying time.
Working in Afghanistan is uncertain and unstable at the best of times, but with the added threat of Coronavirus, Nowzad is now bracing ourselves for the unknown more than ever.
As of Monday 16th March, the Nowzad clinic and shelter in Afghanistan went into lockdown for the coming weeks. When it will end - we just do not know.

Meet Nowzad’s newest Veterinarians – Dr Hamida and Dr Farzad!

Dr Hamida and Dr Farzad came to the Nowzad Conrad Lewis Clinic as part of our first ever Internship programme, a scheme very kindly sponsored by the 353 organisation.
We were so impressed with their dedication and commitment, we decided to keep these young and dynamic veterinarians on a permanent basis!

Here, they tell us why they love working at the Nowzad clinic and why it is so important to them to improve the lives of animals in Afghanistan; 

Dr Hamida – Assistant Veterinarian at Nowzad
After I graduated from university I searched for a job.
At first I was so happy that I’m a veterinarian and I can serve to animals but after a lot searching I became so hopeless cause there wasn’t any clinic to serve animals.
At Kabul there was many poultry sectors and their aim was just business.

I went to some small animal clinics in Afghanistan, but the clinics were all in a bad situation in the view of hygiene, animal welfare, treatment and etc.

Many people in Afghanistan think that being a veterinarian means treatment of farm animals, breeding, business, and the slaughter of animals.

When I see all of this, I hated being a veterinarian. I wanted to start another faculty, but I was so hopeless and unhappy that I wasted five years of my life and veterinary skills in business.

This all changed when I found a chance to come to Nowzad and I was a lucky girl to find this chance, because at Nowzad I achieve what I had always wished.
I wished to serve animals which suffer, animals who are abused by humans, animals which are hopeless and homeless, thirsty and hungry animals, and I am doing it all at Nowzad.

Nowzad is a small society with big humanity aims.
Now I’m very happy that I work at Nowzad and proud of being a veterinarian.

Dr Farzad – Assistant Veterinarian at Nowzad

One of the greatest benefits of working at Nowzad is that I have the chance to promote the health and welfare of animals in Afghanistan.
Through Nowzad I am able to relieve the suffering of animals that have experienced traumatic injuries or chronic illnesses.
Even routine spay and neuter surgeries help the animals in our community by reducing pet overpopulation which results to reduce rabies incidence and other zoonosis diseases.
In this case, Nowzad is the only NGO in Afghanistan that really cares for animal and animal welfare to help both animals and humans, and I feel really proud that I am a member of the Nowzad family.

Day of the Jackals!

Being the only clinic and shelter of it’s kind in the whole of Afghanistan, no two days at Nowzad are ever the same!...
So when we were called and asked to humanely remove some jackals from a military base, the Nowzad team jumped at the chance to get involved!

We are so proud to update you with our new initiative to spread kindness to animals throughout Afghanistan!
We now have an ‘Animal Heroes Afghanistan’ scheme where we identify Afghans who go above and beyond to help animals in distress.
Two remarkable young men have already received the accolade and here’s why;

💜 NEW RESCUE ALERT 💜

Meet Zabit ~ please note that some may find his story distressing.

We found Zabit (which means ‘Sergeant’ in Dari) at a Military Camp in Afghanistan during a TNVR drive. 

We instantly realised that he had a traumatic injury to his face, so we brought him straight into our clinic for treatment.

Help Nowzad get the 5 Farah pups to the USA!
Fox's Soldier Saviour says:

The puppies came out of nowhere. It was late, probably around 2am, when someone came to our front step and announced that a litter of puppies had been delivered in the howitzer pit and needed to be moved as soon as possible before the gun went off and they were all killed. The five of us stood up with a newfound sense of purpose and duty and quickly moved to help move the pups and their mom to a safer location. 

🚨 ATTENTION ALL AMAZON SHOPPERS!

Do you want to save animal lives by supporting Nowzad when you shop at NO extra cost to yourself? Those in the USA and the UK can shop on Amazon Smile and donate to the Nowzad Charity at the same time!

It’s super quick and easy to do; just 5 minutes of your time can generate lots of much needed funds for the animals of Afghanistan 🐶🐱

How many working donkeys, mules and horses do you think there are in Afghanistan?  You might be surprised to learn that there are more than 1.5 million.  For the Afghan people, working equines are vital to their way of life. They are used to carry water, food, trading goods and building materials.

In conjunction with Animal Aid Abroad’s Walk a mile in a donkey’s shoes campaign Nowzad Founder Pen Farthing took to the streets of Kabul to quite literally walk a mile in a donkey’s shoes and raise awareness of the plight of working donkeys and equines.

The Nowzad Conrad Lewis clinic in Kabul, Afghanistan, is a place of hope and new beginnings for all; a place where broken spirits and limbs are healed and a haven for the Afghan locals to bring injured and abused animals in a country where they would otherwise have no one to turn to.

Vida’s idea of hosting an Afghan inspired dinner party to raise funds for Nowzad was an amazing success!

Nowzad rescues Ghar and Cooper were on hand to support the children of a school in Fairfield, California as they raised over $1200 for Nowzad!

FUNdraising for Nowzad!

We are always so inspired by the imaginative ways in which the incredible Nowzad Family think up ways to raise vital funds for the animals of Afghanistan! 
Whether it’s jumping out of perfectly good planes, sponsorships, walking dogs, baking cakes, running stalls in the rain or filling up collection tins, YOU make the difference and save precious lives every day.

The initiative is going from strength to strength allowing the amazing Nowzad Family the chance to not only help the animals of Afghanistan, but the people too…

In many traditional families in Afghanistan it is still unacceptable for women to work. So often, when a man dies, is incapacitated, or is unable to work for any reason, the women are forced on to the streets to beg. 

Our TNVR programme has expanded as 2018 saw new animals being added to our list that we have vaccinated against rabies!

With the assistance of Kabul Zoo, our team vaccinated wolves, jackals, a fox and even LIONS against rabies! 
A first for our Veterinarians, and an effective way forward in preventing rabies not only for the animals, but visiting public too.

Meet Jaja! - Nowzad’s FIRST EVER goat rescue! 

Our Migrant Camp program to vaccinate the vast range of animals against rabies and other fatal diseases is continuing for the displaced people and their animals in and around Kabul city. 
During one of these very visits, we came across a little goat who was scared, severely dehydrated, hungry and alone, with nothing but rubbish on the ground for food.

Education is the most powerful tool we have in improving animal welfare in Afghanistan and we are so proud to share with you our eye-catching anti-animal abuse posters designed by our very own Veterinarian Dr Reshad, that we are distributing all over Kabul. 

Meet the Nowzad Donkey Sanctuary’s newest resident - Maqbula! 

It was October last year when the Nowzad Team were called out to a severely injured donkey that had been hit by a speeding car whilst pulling a cart.

From rescuing Nowzad and Tali back in 2006 (although to be fair, they rescued me) I have never actually adopted a dog from Nowzad... but then again you could say I have 150 ‘adopted dogs’ every time I travel out to the Nowzad shelter!

Our goal at Nowzad is to promote dogs and cats as a great addition to the household and a loving member of the family, to the Afghan public.

The fabulous Potter League in Newport, Rhode Island hosted a talk by Nowzad founder Pen Farthing at their rescue facilities in early October thanks to the kind permission of Brad, Potter League CEO and President of the Board; Joan Freese.

The amazing team at Faithful Friends Animal Hospital in Brooklyn under the dynamic guidance of Jill Caruso put on a fantastic fundraiser in Brooklyn during early October. Pen & Hannah arrived to set up for the event and were blown away by the on-going preparations for the raffle.

In the theatre of war there are many forgotten victims – least of all the animals.

From the valiant horses and mules who carried medical supplies, food, water and ammunition in the trenches, to the intrepid messenger pigeons and the gas detecting canaries. Animals have always been a courageous and esteemed comrade to man in times of war.

Operating in Afghanistan, the Nowzad charity knows only too well how human conflict can cause so much pain to a creature who’s only fault is to be born in the wrong place. It is a grueling life for an animal in a war zone and often the struggle to merely survive is lost.

We will honour them all.  

Through remembering the fallen we can make a difference to the future. We will change the course of animal welfare in war zones that desperately need Nowzad’s help and support, providing education in the local communities and vital medical assistance.

By reuniting those animals that have given our soldiers much needed companionship during the horrors of a tour of duty. Cats and dogs like Nowzad, the original stray dog that adopted Pen.

This year, wear your Nowzad Poppy with pride alongside your British Legion poppy and honour the animals of war, who had no choice but to be there.

The Nowzad poppy badge is an elegant 28mm solid metal pin badge that is polished gold in colour. The unique 3 leafed poppy design with a white dog paw at the centre is a fitting tribute to the forgotten animals of war.

Following the limited edition poppy released in 2015; we will annually issue a new poppy depicting the year, making it a fabulous collector’s item. Buy yours today here from the Nowzad online shop and be the difference for an animal in Afghanistan.

https://www.nowzad.com/shop/c/nowzad-poppy-badge

Well not literally, but for a donation you could have your dogs name on a paw print sticker placed on the side of Dakota's racing car for race weekend in New Jersey! 

Dakota said this about his fabulous fundraising initative; 

How you can make an even bigger difference

Can you imagine how hard it is to ask people you have mostly never met, to donate towards rescuing an animal they will never meet?

As the Founder of Nowzad, I still find it really difficult, but I’m sure you’ll understand why I have to ask you to help a little more?

Nowzad is making a difference in Afghanistan for animal welfare because of you.

We have had a spate of vulnerable families of kittens finding sanctuary at the Nowzad clinic, away from the perils of life as a stray on the streets of Kabul.

And it turns out it’s not just for donkeys…

Whilst visiting an owner of a herd of cows, the team discovered a young calf amongst the discarded rubbish piles. This small cow had a severe lower leg injury and was struggling to stand as the wound was so badly infected. From the size and depth of the wound we guessed it was the result of a dog bite.

Introducing our first ever rescue from Syria!!

Queen Anne’s Solder Saviour says; 'During my time in Syria we stumbled upon Queen Anne. This little puppy’s mother was killed by some locals and was lost in the desert by herself. 

Fundraising never stops. These Animals need your support now more than ever so could you be a Nowzad Fundraising Hero? There are so many ways to get involved and raise vital funds for the animals of Afghanistan.

The last year proved that Nowzad is needed now more than ever as we battle against the worsening security situation that our team faces on a daily basis.  
Sadly, in May this year one Taliban attack in Kabul left 150 people dead and 350 injured. Three of our team were just minutes away from the blast. They were on their way to collect cats for our TNVR (trap, neuter, vaccinate, return) programme. 

THE GEORGE HOTEL in Chipping Sodbury has hosted the 5th Grufts, which raised vital funds for Nowzad!

So by now you may have seen us on Animal Planet's Dodo Heroes series and may be wondering just how did Pen Farthing, the Nowzad founder, manage to rescue his canine buddy 'Nowzad' from the depths of Helmand to the safety of the United Kingdom?

In the United Kingdom the new GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) have now come into force and the charity is promoting these new practises in our UK and US offices. Have you given us permission to keep you updated about the vital animal welfare work we do in Afghanistan?

Whilst carrying out a spay, neuter and vaccination drive at a Migrant Camp, we discovered a horse amongst the waste in a disused area of the settlement.

The horse was attempting to find whatever food she could scavenge and was eating plastic and dirt. 

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ 

Please be aware that the following information may be extremely distressing to some.

We have thought long and hard about whether to share the following rescue with you, our Nowzad Family.

The Global Alliance for Rabies Control has awarded Nowzad the World Rabies Day Award 2017 in the category 'Organisation - Asia and we are so thrilled!

On a beautiful sunny afternoon with the backdrop of the lovely Primrose Hill in London at PupAid 2017, the marvellous animal welfare legend and Nowzad Patron; Peter Egan launched the Nowzad Poppy for 2017.

Please be advised that some people may find the video in this post distressing - but thankfully there is an extremely happy ending for this sweet dog. This is the extraordinary story of Nesha, the dog who was forced into heroin addiction.

Organised by the amazing Jill & Les; fears of no-one would turn up were soon forgotten as we then started worrying that the arena might not actually be big enough for all the entrants!

With categories like; ‘Prettiest Bitch’, ‘Handsome Hound’, ‘Golden Oldie’, ‘Owner most like their dog’, ‘Best child handler’, ‘the Parade of Nowzad rescues’ which included; the original Nowzad dog Tali, plus Maxchat (from Iraq), Wylie, Cookie monster, Xena, Moosh boy and Sharifa and ‘Happiest dog’ it was a jam packed afternoon.

A message from Pen. 

Education - it moulds us, changes us and forces us to consider things beyond our boundaries…educate enough people and it could change a community, a city, even a country…there are no limits to the impact education can have. 
Nowzad knows how important education is in improving Animal Welfare within Afghanistan, and throughout this newsletter you’ll see the various and diverse education programmes that the Nowzad Charity is carrying out to change Afghanistan for the better.  

A huge thank you to all who have generously donated towards the continued care of our six rescue donkeys, including those who backed our ‘Shahzada Appeal’ and supporters of Animal Aid Abroad, who have sent generous donations from Down Under! 

Although the Nowzad Dog shelter provided a safe and secure home for our donkeys, we knew they deserved more. So, Nowzad has built the FIRST EVER Donkey Sanctuary in Afghanistan!  

To everybody who has donated, continues to donate and for all those who give up their time and energy to ensure our success as a charity, you have our utmost thanks, it is your support that is the lifeblood of animal welfare in Afghanistan.   

Contacting Nowzad

Could I please ask you to spare just a few moments to update us on your contact details? If you recieved a 'hardcopy' newsletter can you check your address on the front of the envelope that it came in – did we get your name right? Is your address correct? Would you prefer to receive the newsletter by email?

We do NOT share your contacts will any other groups or organisations. We want your donations all for our animal welfare work in Afghanistan!

Please do let us know either by contacting us on email or by using our postal address details as below which includes our address for the new office in the USA!

If you are a UK based supporter then please use;

Nowzad; Meriel Suite, Hartnoll Farm, Post Hill, Tiverton, EX164NG and our office number is 07583812091.

If you are based in North America then we now have a new office which is located in Frisco, Texas!

Nowzad Dogs NFP; 2770 Main Street #161, Frisco, Texas, 75033, USA – we have not yet confirmed a phone number.

Lately, there has been an increase of press speculation in reference to the irresponsible importation of dogs into the UK. Here is our stance on this important matter.

As many of you know we have been honoured to have Ricky Gervais and Jane Fallon supporting our vital work for the animals of Afghanistan for some time now.

So we are sure that you will be thrilled to hear that the comedic genius that is Ricky and his Best Selling Author partner Jane are now official Patrons of the Nowzad Charity!

Cathy Kangas is the new Global Ambassador for Nowzad, supporting our charity that reunites soldiers with the dogs that they befriended while on tour in Afghanistan. 

On the 25th February 2017 Nowzad teamed up with the fabulous Victoria Stilwell for a joint fundraising event in Decatur, Georgia, USA. The sold out event was held at Canine PhD (thank you so much to the team there for donating the venue for free!) which provided a very doggy themed backdrop to the talk given by Nowzad founder Pen Farthing. 

We are never more inspired then when we see the hard work our supporters do to make a difference for animals in a country that is thousands of miles away from them and animals they will most likely never meet.

Military painting in aid of Nowzad - limited print edition

This amazing piece of work, that has been named ‘Nowzad”, has been painted and donated to the charity by artist Dave Hill.

Back in November during Remembrance weekend we celebrated the 10 year anniversary of Nowzad founder Pen Farthing's first meeting with that dock eared fighting dog that became the inspiration for the charity and what a celebration it was!

Nowzad Founder Pen Farthing has been named as the first GlobalBritain Points of Light winner!

On the 11th March Pen & Hannah headed north to the birth place of Robbie Williams to tell the 'tail' of how he met Nowzad the dog 10 years ago in a remote forward operating base in Helmand province, Afghanistan. And what a fabulous night of fundraising it was!

Just for fun the Afghan team at the Nowzad shelter & clinic in Kabul took part in the recent Mannequin Challenge - we have uploaded the video to the official Nowzad YouTube channel.

Watch our Mannequin challenge below which was filmed on the first attempt - and yes... that is a real dog!!!!

Being part of the Nowzad charity has led me to know one thing for certain.. Our team of Afghan employees, UK & USA Trustees and volunteers and the amazing Nowzad family of supporters just do not know the meaning of taking a break.

Left to die on the side of the dirt track, a donkey that has only known hard labour her entire life is discarded like a piece of trash.

What a great day at Pup Aid. The event was perfectly orgainsed and apart from the last hour or so the weather was great unlike those on the Snowdon Challenge that day!

A huge thank you to Gary and Gemma for travelling to London from their home in Portsmouth to be with us all day and help man the stand.

Thank you to our supporters Donna, Debbie, Diane,  Gillian, Caroline, and Ishani who donated items for us to have on the stall.

It was lovely to meet friends & supporters, old and new, and we also raised £284.84p for Nowzad. 

Same time next year? Let's hope so 

In December 2014 our founder Pen Farthing received his nomination as one of the top ten finalists for the CNN 2014 Hero award from the one and only Benedict Cumberbatch at a star studded event in New York City.