At Nowzad, we believe that every hero deserves to be remembered. That includes the countless animals who have served, suffered, & died in wars throughout history.
They sought no glory, & understood little of the conflicts they were thrust into, yet they gave everything to help us.
For them, we remember, in every conflict, since the First World War, through to present day.
Nowzad was formed in 2007 by former Royal Marine Sergeant Pen Farthing, who served in the war-torn town of 'Now Zad', in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Their mission was to provide stability for the local people during a period of ever decreasing security.
It wasn’t only the local people that needed their help though, but many of the stray four-legged residents who roamed the town, & whom had been forced to take part in organised dog fights.
One of those fighting dogs, formed an unbreakable bond with Pen, & became his battle buddy, named…’Nowzad’.
From that remote desert outpost, many soldiers sought solace with the dogs, for brief moments of ‘normality’, like hugging a pet from home, to help get them through the darkest days of their service.
For the last 19 years, the Nowzad charity has helped soldiers rescue the stray dogs & cats they had befriended whilst serving in various regions of Afghanistan, reuniting them across the world in the USA, Canada, France, Holland, Germany, Italy, Australia, Thailand, Japan, Spain, South Africa, Finland, Croatia & the UK.
Every single one is special to the charity & has a story to tell.
However, it was clear that Nowzad’s work didn’t end there. The pressing mission was to help the animals not so lucky to find peace & comfort away from the conflict.
And so, Nowzad’s legacy includes the opening of the country’s first proper small animal veterinary clinic & animal shelter in Kabul, in 2008. Then in 2017, we opened the first ever donkey sanctuary in Afghanistan.
In 2021, we had to evacuate more than 200 small animals from Afghanistan in what was known as ‘Operation Ark’.
Our work there with the hospital, sanctuary & working animal programme, has been able to continue since though.
And in 2022, there was a clear need for help in Ukraine, and so began our work there & ‘Operation Kramatorsk’, to assist the animal rescue shelters to relocate to safe locations, & deliver a TNVR & anti-rabies programme. This year, we have also partnered with the rescue ranch ‘Horse Paradise’, to help save & care for a number of equines affected by the ongoing war.
Today, Sunday 8th November 2026, is Remembrance Day. We honour all those who have died in the line of duty, and those who continue to be affected by conflict.
We carry their memory forward by wearing our Nowzad poppies with pride.
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You can find out more about our history and the work we do here:
https://www.nowzad.com/our-work/our-history