Qudsia’Karimi’
I”was”born”in”Afghanistan”and”when”I”was”2″months”old”my”parents” emigrated”to”Iran”due”to”the”Soviet”invasion.”I”was”raised”in”the” suburbs”of”the”city”of”Mashhad,”close”to”the”Afghan”border,”where” thousands”of”Afghan”refugees”were”residing.”I”began”my”education” in”Afghan”refugee”schools”at”a”young”age;”later,”my” mother”enrolled”me”in”an”Iranian”school,”as”it”was”more”stable.”” Since”many”Afghan”refugees”were”unable”to”enroll”in”universities”in” Iran,”after”graduating”from”high”school,”I”moved”to”Malaysia”where” I”completed”a”bachelor’s”degree”in”Communications”at”the” International”University”of”Malaysia.”
Due”to”the”ongoing”war”in”Afghanistan,”my”family”and”I”moved”to” Vancouver”in”2005.””I”have”volunteered”and”worked”in”settlement” agencies”in”Vancouver,”Toronto”and”Saskatoon”since”then.”I” received”a”full”scholarship”from”the”“World”University”Services”of” Canada””to”study”at”the”University”of”British”Columbia”in”2008,” where”I”completed”a”double”degree”in”Political”Science.”I”have”a” passion”for”education”and”I”am”hoping”to”start”my”Master’s”degree” in”September.””
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I”am”currently”employed”as”the”Outreach”Case”Manager”for”the” Burnaby”Family”Life”Organization”for”the”Dari”and”Pashto”speaking” Afghan”community”in”Burnaby,”BC,”helping”newcomers”and”their” families”with”their”everyday”needs:””familiarizing”them”with” Canadian”culture”and”preparing”them”to”deal”with”Canadian” systems”for”education,”healthcare,”housing,”childcare”and”politics” and”government.”