Aziza

We were introduced to Aziza in early 2022 through an NGO aiding her resettlement in an Albanian refugee camp after fleeing Afghanistan. Aziza was seeking U.S. asylum and was looking for guidance applying to colleges. Her journey is one of extraordinary resilience.

In Kabul, Aziza attended a co-ed high school where girls studied outside in gravel yards, sharing textbooks without access to a library or science labs, and boys studied inside out of the hot sun.

In May 2021, she survived a Taliban bombing that killed 85 students, mostly girls. (You can read more about the school bombing here.)
Three months later, the Taliban took over the country, closing all girls’ secondary schools. Fearing for her safety as an educated female, Aziza fled to Pakistan, then to the Albanian refugee camp, where she lived for nearly two years.

For over a year, we remotely assisted Aziza in researching U.S. colleges open to refugees, guiding her through applications and writing recommendations.

After receiving asylum, she arrived in the U.S. in May 2023, in time to enroll at Temple University by August. We helped her organize dorm essentials and navigate financial aid. She excelled and finished her first year with honors. At the end of her freshman year, we helped her secure an accounting internship at a summer camp that also provided her with food and housing.

Aziza is now a sophomore majoring in Economics with a minor in Accounting. Though safe in the USA with no certainty she will ever see her family again, she remains hopeful as she builds a future, gaining access to the education and opportunities the Taliban had put out of her reach. Aziza’s journey reflects the courage and strength of the human spirit as she forges a new life in the United States.