Along with the seemingly endless challenges that go with operating an animal charity in a war zone comes some incredible moments too.
None of it would happen though if it weren’t for our amazing supporters like you, who see us through, every time.
All money raised from purchases of our merchandise goes straight into supporting our vital animal welfare work on the ground in Ukraine and Afghanistan.
This also includes our network of volunteers working across Ukraine. Every day we feel so proud of these teams who often risk their lives to care for animals suffering from the aftershock of war.
“Nina” – is just one such lady who Pen has met on one of his visits to eastern Ukraine earlier this year. She ventures out on her bicycle every single day laden with animal food and first aid in an area just a few miles from the frontlines of the war with Russia. Her courage and determination to be there for the stray dogs and cats is an inspiration. She almost single-handedly looks after the abandoned dogs and cats living in her bombed-out town in eastern Ukraine.; everyone else has fled.
Nowzad is proud to support her with the dry dog and cat food she needs to fulfil her mission.
For as long as we have your support we will continue helping people like Nina who give so much hope, strength and compassion back to a place almost wiped from the map.
The Nowzad team has just visited Kramatorsk (in the far east of Ukraine) in October, to support the rebuilding of a shelter left without resources or support as people fled the area. The team took along Nowzad vet, Dr Lach Campbell from Australia, to ensure they could deliver vital animal welfare to the dogs and cats they met on the ground, which of course meant be able to deliver rabies vaccinations and other vital treatments such as de-worming and flea prevention.
Thanks to your generous support the team spent four challenging days as temperatures started to drop and against the constant back drop of the air raid alarms blaring away to build 10 brand new kennel blocks (which had been delivered from England).
Each kennel block can accommdate 8 dogs if required providing an outside run element and indoor hard covered sleep area. These new kennels have now replaced the old and not fit for purpose individual dog kennels that were used to house each canine resident.
Pen says who led the team in Kramatorsk; "14 hour days of total grind in our race to erect all the kennelling before we had to leave, proud of the team as they got on with the job even in the cold and under our head torches as we worked into the night. Hard but extremely satisfying work to be honest".
The dogs in the shelter this winter will now be housed in kennelling designed to stand the test of an eastern Ukrainian winter.
The team split into two as they drove west so that Dr Campbell could visit Lviv Veternary University to meet with lectueres and professors as he had donated an ultra-sound machine for their use, whilst the other team visited a shelter in Borodianka (west of Kyiv) operated by a volunteer group that has started a pop-up shelter to support the stray dogs being brought west from areas like Kherson which were left in utter devastation from the destroyed dam several months ago.
Your generous donations have allowed us to support this volunteer group with fencing and new DIY kennels.
We will update you on the progress with the shelter rebuilds in the coming months via our social media but please consider donating today so that we funds available for any further support that needs to be offered. Your donations DO make a difference to a dog or cat in need. Thank you for caring!