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The Nowzad Charity was founded in 2007 by Sgt Pen Farthing
Fighting the fight for animals promoting animal welfare in Afghanistan and Ukraine
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The Nowzad Charity was founded in 2007 by Pen Farthing, a Former Royal Marine Commando. Kilo Company of 42 Commando Royal Marines arrived in the war torn town of Now Zad in Helmand Province of Afghanistan in November 2006. Their mission, to provide stability for the local people during a period of ever decreasing security. The Royal Marines soon realised that it wasn’t only the local people that needed their help. Many of the stray dogs that roamed the town of ‘Now Zad’ now had a guardian for the first time in their lives; in the form of Sergeant Pen Farthing. Upon breaking up an organised dog fight, one of the dogs ‘adopted’ Pen as his only buddy. Naming the dog ‘Nowzad’ Pen could not leave his new four-legged friend behind, so he hatched a cunning plan to bring Nowzad the dog from deep in Helmand Province to a new life in the English countryside. Miraculously, his plan was successful, but Pen was soon inundated with requests from soldiers in the same position as he'd found himself in...

Thus the Nowzad Charity was born… registered as a charity in England and Wales, but also a 501c3 in the USA and a Non-Governmental Organisation in Afghanistan and Ukraine. Operating within Afghanistan has not been plain sailing… we have faced multiple challenges during the years of conflict, not least the coalition withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The team who remained in Kabul after Nowzad’s now famous ‘Operation Ark’ campaign, have not only rebuilt from scratch but are now expanding their work within many communities, including helping to improve the welfare of working animals and the families who rely on them. We are also very proud to run Afghanistan’s only equine sanctuary too – home to 15 donkeys and 2 horses, all rescued from a life of extreme hardship as working animals. As the years have advanced so have our goals to ensuring our animal welfare work not only benefits the animals, we care for but the people too. Our rabies prevention work is testimony to that. In 2023 the Nowzad charity opened the Nowzad Veterinary Hospital in Kabul – the first and only of its kind in the whole of Afghanistan – which now treats vaccinates and neuters many hundreds of animals in need. Nowzad’s experience of working in a conflict zone has also been useful in our efforts to help the animals sadly caught up in the war in Ukraine. There are many thousands upon thousands of animals living on the streets now – simply abandoned as the local people fled the fighting, and shelters became full to absolute capacity. At the beginning of the Russian invasion, Nowzad’s priority quickly became establishing as an NGO in Lviv, which helped facilitate vital supply lines into Ukraine for humanitarian and veterinary purposes. We now use this as our base for the multiple animal welfare programmes Nowzad supports across the country. These include re-building animal shelters close to the frontlines of fighting damaged through missile and rocket strikes, and organising large scale spay-neuter-vaccinate initiatives in several key areas - to humanely reduce the burgeoning street animal populations, plus control the spread of dangerous diseases. By supporting Nowzad’s vital animal welfare work you are making a positive and much needed impact for an animal in need in either Afghanistan or Ukraine. Thank you for caring and thank you for donating.

21/10/2026

As you may well have seen on social media last week, our brave friends at Druzi Space NGO in Kramatorsk — led by the fearless Ksenia — suffered a devastating loss when an FPV drone strike destroyed one of their main evacuation vehicles.

These vehicles are absolute lifelines. Without them, rescue missions in vulnerable frontline areas simply cannot happen. Thanks to generous supporters across the animal rescue community, they can often be fixed or maintained — but this time, a full replacement was needed urgently. Nowzad jumped right into action to secure a new evacuation van and keep Ksenia’s life-saving work moving forward.

This special vehicle — affectionately named "Ambo" — comes with an incredible backstory of community support. The idea came from Michelle at Buddies Freedom Transport, who saw the desperate need for vehicles in Ukraine while temporarily using "Ambo" herself. With the kind agreement of owners Jacqui and Steve Honour, Michelle launched a GoFundMe, boosted by a fundraiser from Sarah Angel and her Spiritual Friends. Fitted with heavy-duty, impact-resistant crates, power, A/C, and even a kettle for the long journey, Ambo is perfectly equipped for frontline rescue work.

Right now, our brilliant Trustee Tony is bombing across Europe in "Ambo", driving non-stop to deliver this vehicle directly to Ksenia by this weekend. This will ensure Druzi Space can get straight back to rescuing, protecting, and evacuating vulnerable animals from harm’s way in Kramatorsk.

A massive thank you to Michelle, Buddies Freedom Transport, Sarah Angel, Jacqui and Steve Honour, our fab Adoptions Manager Jen (and Martin of course), Tony and all of you - our incredible supporters - for making this whole journey possible! 🐾❤️

20/10/2026

🐾✈️💜 Let’s Get Them Home

It’s Tuesday again and that means our weekly appeal for our lucky adoptions who are waiting to join their new families. Thank you for all your fabulous donations to help them. This week Tipo, Melano and Ninja are joined by our special needs dogs Buddy, Bento & William. Buddy & William have veterans who are waiting to meet these brave dogs & Bento has a wonderful home waiting for him. Please can we all dig deep and help them get home before the harsh Kabul Winter arrives. We know times are challenging but if everyone could donate the cost of a hot drink and a sandwich it would help them so much. These fundraisers are their only ticket to freedom and their journey home to a safe and secure future in loving homes. And when one goes home it means that we can help another animal in desperate need of shelter space.
Thank you everyone for making the magic happen for them and giving them this chance of a bright future
To donate please click on their fundraisers below
🩷🩷 Tipo & Melano our bonded beautiful BFF
https://fundrazr.com/a2m5Od?
💙 Ninja our loving brave tripaw
https://fnd.us/52nRi9?ref=sh_fE7RY4
💙 Buddy a gentle friendly boy
https://fundrazr.com/c2nz4b
💙 Bento a brave stoic survivor
https://fundrazr.com/22nz66
💙 William young intelligent lucky boy
https://fundrazr.com/52nz3c

Thank you everyone for being the difference and helping us to get them home 🙏

19/10/2026

🐾❤️ Happy Monday 🥳

A great way to kick off another week…. Mike, Mercy & Counter recently all went to Europe and are really settling down well with their new family. Life is good for these gorgeous and affectionate trio. They truly are living the dream, big soft beds and plenty of zoomies around their huge garden. They really hit the jackpot and we are so happy for them and their new Mum our wonderful Diana who works so hard to help the others with their fundraisers with her Vinted challenge. Whilst Mum is busy the ‘three amigos’ are having fun exploring every inch of the garden and digging their Kabul bunkers! Thank you Diana - they are 3 very lucky pupsters!
If you would like to adopt one of our adorable cats or dogs please email Jen on [email protected] or complete the online application
https://www.nowzad.com/adoptions/application

18/10/2026

Who remembers Togo, from some of our past newsletters? Once a long-term shelter resident at Nowzad, Togo recently stopped by our clinic with his new Afghan family for a routine check-up, and he is absolutely loving life as their beloved dog.

Through our Local Adoption Programme, we are rehoming some of our suitable shelter dogs into local Afghan families who welcome them as cherished companions rather than guard dogs. We've seen that this also helps to foster positive, compassionate attitudes towards dogs and cats across the wider community.

To ensure every adoption is a lifelong success, our team guides families through every step. Before any dog moves in, we conduct home visits to ensure a suitable environment and ask every family member to spend time getting to know the dog. Once in their new home, our vet teams also carry out regular post-adoption visits to check on the dog's wellbeing and see how they are settling in.

Adopted dogs remain part of the Nowzad family FOREVER, returning to our hospital for regular check-ups, follow-up vaccinations, and annual boosters to keep them healthy for life.

Seeing dogs like Togo thrive in a loving home is so life-affirming! And he was so pleased to see our wonderful vet Abdul Haq again.

Thank you to literally everyone supporting our mission in Kabul!

17/10/2026

Happy Caturday! 🐾 ❤️

Today we are sharing a very gentle but meaningful celebration with you all - our Nowzad family.

We have officially opened a dedicated new room at our Kabul hospital for our most vulnerable and frightened rescue cats — and it was made possible through an extraordinary gift of love and remembrance.

When Colin sadly passed away, his wife Tracy wanted a special way for his family and friends to honour his memory. Together, through donations given at his service, from those unable to attend, and then with his wife Tracy rounding up the total, Colin’s friends and family raised an incredible £1,500 to build this quiet cat sanctuary at our hospital.

Colin’s deep connection to Nowzad began in 2022 when he and Tracy adopted Tabitha - a cat rescued during Operation Ark who had spent her entire life surviving on the streets of Kabul. When Tracy saw a photograph of a cat with the saddest, most melancholy eyes, Colin simply looked at her and knew she had already found her forever home.

He understood that frightened, traumatised animals don't need fixing — they need patience, kindness, and respect. Little by little, through Colin’s quiet devotion, Tabitha learned to trust. On Colin's final evening, Tabitha lay asleep on his knee, flat on her back and gently snoring — the ultimate picture of contentment for a cat who had once trusted no one.

Because of Colin, Tracy, and the love of their closest friends and family, other vulnerable cats in Kabul who have known only fear will now have a safe, peaceful space to rest, heal, and learn to trust again.

We are so deeply grateful to Tracy and Colin's loved ones for keeping his kindness alive in every cat that walks through that door.

Our thoughts remain with Tracy as she holds Colin in her heart.

15/10/2026

Hello all our friends out there,

With sub-zero temperatures approaching Kabul in about a month's time, warmth isn’t a luxury for our shelter dogs and vulnerable hospital patients — it's actually a lifeline.

In our post last week, we talked about our plans to build dedicated, insulated, and heated kennels at Nowzad's Animal Hospital in Afghanistan - to protect elderly dogs like Diesel, Babri, and Fury, along with tiny puppies and dogs recovering from severe or chronic conditions like our sweet Ramy.

So where do we stand right now?

An incredible response by you all has taken us very swiftly to 53% of our target! You're all amazing. But - to fully unlock the match funds from the incredible Alisdair's legacy and his family, we've got to reach that £1,500. Every single pound you give today will be matched pound-for-pound in loving memory of Alisdair.

And we must say a really special thanks too, to the Raise4Nowzad fundraising group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1680789412193421/), who have enabled us to get the very first heated kennel built already — proudly being shown off by our Roving Ambassador Fury this morning! 🐶❤️

Now, we need your help to keep the momentum going so we can get 3 more kennels in place before the real winter cold kicks in.

👉 Donate to double your impact today and know that, somewhere out there, there are at least 4 golden oldies that will be comfortable all winter long, thanks to your kindness.

https://fnd.us/32nE02?ref=sh_fE7RY4

14/10/2026

🐴💛 Help us keep Ukraine’s horses fed this winter

Winter is getting closer, and we’re doing everything we can to make sure the horses at our partner shelter, Horse Paradise, have enough hay to see them through the cold months ahead.

One of those horses is beautiful Barhan. ❤️

Barhan wasn’t always a rescue horse. He was once a talented show jumper, competing alongside some of Ukraine’s best riders. But the war changed everything.

When his owner could no longer look after him, Barhan was left with almost nothing to eat. He survived on raw rice grains, becoming terribly thin and unwell. There were real fears that he wouldn’t make it through another winter.

Thankfully, the wonderful team at Horse Paradise agreed to take him in when no other sanctuary could. Barhan finally had somewhere safe to go, and people who would give him the care he so desperately needed.

His story is just one of many, and it’s why our Emergency Hay Appeal means so much to us.

These horses have been through so much, yet they still have so much love to give. At Horse Paradise, they also bring comfort to soldiers and children whose lives have been turned upside down by the war.

We know times are difficult for everyone, but if you can spare a little to help us keep these horses fed this winter, it would mean the world to us. 🌾

You can support our Emergency Hay Appeal here:
https://www.nowzad.com/support-us/emergency-hay-appeal

And if Barhan’s story has touched your heart, you can sponsor him directly and help give this lovely boy the future he deserves:
https://www.nowzad.com/store/product/sponsor-barhan-a-champions-journey-to-healing

Thank you, as always, for caring and for being there when these animals need us most. 💛💙

13/10/2026

✈️🐾❤️ Let’s Get Them Home

Yesterday - if you saw our post - we celebrated three very lucky souls finally reaching their families.

Today, our bonded girls Tipo & Melano and our brave tripaw Ninja Dog are hoping it will be their turn. They’re still far from their fundraising goals, and with a harsh winter closing in, we urgently want to get them home to warm beds, full bowls, and the families already waiting for them.

Every £$€ truly matters.

These are the only fundraisers that will get them home — and each donation moves them a few paws closer while also freeing vital kennel space for the next animal who needs us. Your kindness doesn’t just save one life; it opens the door for another.

They have their golden tickets. They have homes ready.
All they need now is us.

Let’s rally. Let’s dig deep. Let’s make their magic happen. Together we get them home - thank you Nowzad family 🙏

🩷🩷 Tipo & Melano — Beautiful BFFs
https://fundrazr.com/a2m5Od?

💙 Ninja — Loving, brave tripaw
https://fnd.us/52nRi9?ref=sh_fE7RY4

12/10/2026

A very Happy Monday indeed!

What a joyful way to begin the week — Albert, TomKat, and Maggi are finally home, and settling in to their new forever homes so well!

Albert and Maggi have wasted no time settling into their huge cosy beds and countryside walks, soaking up every bit of comfort and freedom. And TomKat… well, he has explored every corner of his new home and decided his mum’s bed is absolutely the best spot in the house. He is the most loving kitty and as soon as you sit down ….a cinnamon shaped kitty is on your lap! Purrfect…..

To everyone who donated directly into their fundraisers — thank you. You helped them home. And to our incredible Kabul team, who cared for them every single day until they could fly — we are endlessly grateful. And finally to their new families who gave them this chance of a safe living future, in a home being loved.

Happy new lives to this gorgeous trio. Safe, loved, and finally home.

What a perfect way to start the week. ❤️🐾

Address

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+447583812091

Website

http://www.nowzad.com/

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