Growing up in Kabul under the Taliban regime with bombs blasting around him daily, The Mayhew’s Afghanistan Project Manager Dr Jalil narrowly escaped with his life several times.

In 1995, a 1000 kg bomb was thrown out of a ‘plane and exploded as the highly experienced vet was cycling along a road.

Speaking on World Rabies Day on 28 September, Abdul Jalil Mohammadzai , Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, recalled: “There were so many dead people on the floor. I had to step across them. I lost several friends and neighbours.

“I could not live under the Taliban regime. It was awful. They were closing schools, attacking people in the street. Any man without a beard was forced to grow one. People couldn’t even listen to music. We had no freedom.”

Last year, Mayhew International sponsored a mass vaccination drive for street dogs in Ranchi, North East India, for a month working alongside Mission Rabies and HOPE and Animal Trust, to vaccinate 5000 dogs and neuter another 1000.

India is one of the world’s rabies hot spots and it’s estimated that more than a third of all deaths happen there. Someone is bitten every two seconds and around 24 people a day die in agony – half of them children.

Dr Jalil, 45, who is married with three children, said: “Rabies is a huge problem in Ranchi but it’s easily preventable. The disease is caused by a virus and transmitted to humans from animals. Being on the ground in Ranchi we learned from their system and have adapted it for use in other countries like Afghanistan.”

In 1996, Dr Jalil lost all his belongings after a rocket sliced through the roof of his first floor flat.

He joked: “My stuff was blown all over the place and inside all my neighbours’ houses. I had to run round collecting it. Seriously though, that was when I realised I had to get out.

The Mayhew International team will be returning to Ranchi in November to vaccinate another 5000 dogs over two weeks.

Dr Jalil recently completed a massive dog survey in Kabul where it’s estimated there are 15,420 street dogs in the 16^th District.

He will go back next year to carry out a mass vaccination programme and also implement a Trap, Neuter, Return scheme.

You can donate to Dr. Jalil’s work with Mayhew International and our World Rabies Day appeal here. Just £10 can buy a vaccination jab pack that will protect dogs against rabies and a number of other infectious diseases.