Nowzad Donkey Sanctuary

The Nowzad Donkey Sanctuary

In 2017 Nowzad opened the FIRST EVER donkey and horse sanctuary in Afghanistan.

The Sanctuary, situated on the outskirts of Kabul, is a haven of peace and tranquillity where the former working animals can recover and rest from their injuries and lives of toil and hardship. The Nowzad vets and dedicated staff provide veterinary treatment, good food and tender care. Long term sanctuary is given to animals too old, ill or frail to work again.

Our Animals

We currently have 13 donkeys, 2 horses and a goat and of course, the sanctuary dog 'King' in life long care. Some of their photos and stories are profiled below.

Any animals that are returned to their owners are closely monitored by our vets. The owners also receive our ongoing support and animal husbandry advice on the care of their animals.

Your Donations

£1

for 1kg of bran

£8

for a monthly hoof trim for a donkey or horse

£20

to provide one insulated winter coat for a donkey or horse

£25

for a month's supply of carrots or eggs

£30

for one month's fuel supply to the Sanctuary - so critical for light and warmth in the winter months

£50

for one month's water supply

£80

for one month's hay supply

Donate

Some of our Rescues

Please click here to read about some of our past rescues who are sadly no longer with us.

Peter

Peter is named in honour of our long-standing patron and dear friend, Peter Egan. Like the man himself, this horse possesses a quiet, soulful dignity that stayed with him even in his darkest hours at the brick kilns where he had been put to work. When he arrived at our Sanctuary, Peter was... Read more

Ricky

Named after our wonderful patron Ricky Gervais, this brave soul is the embodiment of resilience. When we first met Ricky at the brick kilns, he was a shadow of a horse, his spirit nearly extinguished by years of relentless toil and severe malnutrition. It was a race against time to bring him to... Read more

Grace

Grace's story is one of incredible resilience and a journey from hardship to hope. Her journey to recovery began in a heartbreaking moment at a brick kiln in Kabul, where she was found collapsed and surrounded by people trying to force her to stand with slaps and kicks. Too weak to even... Read more

Beauty

Beauty is Nowzad’s very first rescue to our new Donkey Sanctuary in Kabul. He is a hugely resilient horse who has clearly had a very difficult life so far, but is now on the road firmly to recovery. Rescued from a life of overwork and neglect, he is finally getting the care he... Read more

Tallulah

In the northern reaches of Kabul, Afghanistan, where Nowzad has been running its Working Animal Programme since 2022, our vet team was called out to a poor foal in a shocking state. The young horse had tragically lost her ears to a vicious dog attack when she couldn’t get up back up after... Read more

Yoda

Yoda was just a 10 years old when he was rescued from the Dehmazang area of Kabul after falling down under the weight of a heavy load. He had lost his sight completely when his right eye had ruptured and he was in desperate need of some care and attention. Fortunately, Yoda’s owner was... Read more

Tom

Our boy Tom was found by Dr Reshad in 2021, having just been abandoned by his owner on the mountains in an area of Kabul called Dehmazang due to his old age and probably his inability to work as long and hard as he used to. As well as old age, Tom was suffering from an acute parasite infection... Read more

Lola

Our beautiful one-eared lady Lola was rescued from a Kuchi Camp in 2018 when one of our volunteers spotted her in a corner of the camp, struggling to walk and severely malnourished. She still managed a little nibble on a carrot when our team approached her and she showed her friendly nature... Read more

Jaja

Jaja the long-eared goat (named after that famous Star Wars character!) was rescued in 2018 from a migrant camp on the city outskirts of Kabul. Before the Taliban came into power again, Nowzad teams often visited these camps to hold vaccination drives and animal health clinics, and generally... Read more

Kushi

The friendliest donkey in the world. Born in the Nowzad shelter in 2014 Kushi (Dari for happiness) grew up surrounded by dogs… we’re certain she thinks she is one! Kushi is often used as our demonstration donkey for Afghan veterinarian student training as she loves the human... Read more

Rosie

It has taken many years for Rosie to forgive. The years of hard labour has resulted in an almost insurmountable barrier for her to forge a friendship with the Nowzad team. But we have hope that Rosie is starting to trust our good intentions. Rosie is still very protective of Kushi, (her... Read more

Aussie

During the summer of 2021, a poor abandoned donkey (now named ‘Aussie’ after our Australian supporters) had fallen and was lying injured in a stream in one of the remote outlying areas of Kabul. He was found by a homeless Afghan lady who managed to get him out of the stream. ... Read more

Azad

Azad was rescued by our Afghan Country Manager Najwa, in November 2017. She was living in appalling conditions within an immigration camp, on the outskirts of Kabul city. When our team came across her, she was barely recognizable as a horse, with injuries and wounds covering her whole body. She... Read more

Jack

Jack came to the Nowzad Donkey Sanctuary in the depths of winter 2022 from a little village west of Kabul called Deh Mazang. He was working long hours every day to help his owner earn enough money for his family. His heavy carts were overladen with supplies of building materials, water, and... Read more

Charlie

Charlie arrived at our sanctuary in 2021 as a young foal, alongside his mother, Pat. Before coming to us, Charlie spent his earliest days on the outskirts of Kabul, following his mother as she worked the difficult mountain trails. Even in those challenging beginnings, Charlie’s devoted... Read more

Maqbola

Our beautiful white donkey Maqbola arrived at the Nowzad hospital as an emergency case, after she and the cart she was pulling were crashed into by a car. Her leg was severely broken and splintered at the thigh bone and hip. Once her owner had been convinced to let her go for treatment, the vet... Read more

Dehmazang

This is Dehmazang – one of thousands of working donkeys in Kabul that suffer every day from injury, disease, malnourishment or poor welfare and husbandry. Luckily for Dehmazang, he was found by the Nowzad team before it was too late for him. This friendly boy was taken in by our vets in... Read more

April

April, came from one of the more remote villages of Kabul. As is the case for most of the donkeys in Afghanistan, she had been used all her life for work, carrying heavy loads between villages and into the city. However in early 2023, April sadly lost her eyesight completely. Her owner... Read more

Nowzad Donkey Sanctuary, Afghanistan

The Nowzad Donkey Sanctuary

Our Animals

Your Donations

Some of our Rescues