At Nowzad, we see the same heartbreaking scenes you do. But behind every animal rescue in Afghanistan, there is a complex reality we are working tirelessly to change from the inside out.

We strongly believe that compassion is grown through education. While we will always step in to rescue animals in crisis like Ricky and Peter, our long-term mission is to ensure those crises stop happening in the first place.

Our equine outreach teams travel from the streets of Kabul to the more remote brick kilns every week to meet the managers, owners and handlers, wherever and whenever they can. We don’t just point out what is wrong; we provide the tools to make it right such as welfare-friendly harnesses, first aid kits, free hoof trimming, rabies and tetanus vaccinations and anti-parasite treatments, as well as blankets, portable shelters or water troughs to help combat both extremes of weather in Afghanistan.

We also sit down to teach basic animal welfare to those local communities so reliant on working horses and donkeys - demonstrating that a healthy, well-cared-for animal is a better partner. These photos are from a couple of recent outreach events Nowzad has hosted at our hospital, in the city and at one of the brick kilns.

For those animals like Ricky and Peter who have sadly fallen through the net, Maverick’s Donkey Sanctuary remains their best chance. But for the thousands of others still working, our outreach is their lifeline.

Your support fuels both the rescue of the few and the education of the many, and we will be forever grateful to all of you wonderful people out there who comment or want to know more, share, react with love and compassion or simply donate.

Thank you from the very bottom of our hearts to each and every one of you.