About Me

In 2006 I started a part-time job as a kitchen assistant at an NGO in Kabul, Afghanistan. I knew neither a single word of English nor did I have computer skills. Working in the kitchen made me so tired. The other people, who worked with this NGO, had some English and computer skills. As a curious risk-taker, I decided to leave this NGO in 2007 so I could go to Pakistan to study English and computer skills. I had a dream to work in an office like the people I observed at the NGO.

In Pakistan in 2007, I sold fruit to support myself. I would wake up at 3 am and go to the fruit market to get fresh fruit. I did not know Urdu, the official language of Pakistan. There were a few other Afghan workmen who would go to the market, too. They knew Urdu well and they helped me with my purchases. Each day I would return from the fruit market around 8 am and start selling the fruit in the dusty streets of Pakistan. I took time out during the day to attend several English and computer classes, which meant I was still selling fruit into the night. It was a very tiring schedule, but I continued it for almost two and half years. When my English and computer skills were strong enough to use in my employment, I came back to Afghanistan to fulfill my dream of working in an office.

There was a supervisor vacancy with the International Security Assistance Force – ISAF in Kabul. Because of my English skills, I was hired. I worked there for almost a year and a half. When the security situation got worse at ISAF, I resigned and took a job somewhere else. In November of 2013, I moved to Bamyan, where I thought, I would love to live and work.

In December 2013, I started my new job as an IT Person and capacity building coordinator with a German INGO, Help (Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe). I became an active member of Bamyan society as soon as I arrived. While working with Help and some other national and international organizations, I identified the need for an English Language and Computer Science Institute in Bamyan.

In Bamyan, I noticed there were no strong opportunities for people to learn English or computer skills. In 2014, I established an Educational Center for this purpose through the local education department. As time passed and the demand for these fields grew, I launched the Pioneer Technical and Professional Institute in 2019. The institute offered two-year diploma programs in English Literature and Computer Science, including courses such as database management, networking, and web design. It equipped students with valuable skills recognized by the Technical & Vocational Education and Training Authority of Afghanistan. Similar to community colleges in the U.S. or Germany’s Berufsfachschule, it offered students an affordable pathway to a four-year degree.

While managing and teaching at my institute and educational center, I earned my bachelor’s degree in law (2016–2019) and worked with several other organizations. Despite a busy schedule, my enthusiasm kept me motivated to work hard and improve both my life and the lives of those in the institute’s community.

Before and after the establishment of Pioneer Technical & Professional Institute, I faced many difficulties, which made me stronger. The team at Pioneer and I were on the verge of becoming prosperous and successful when the COVID-19 pandemic occurred. As a result, the doors of all educational institutions across Afghanistan were closed for almost a year. After the restrictions were slowly lifted, the security situation unfortunately got worse and worse in Afghanistan. Finally, the government of Afghanistan was overthrown by the Taliban in August 2021 and all our dreams were crushed. As a result, thousands of Afghans like me fled the country and immigrated to safer places.

My wife and I arrived in Germany in 2022. Just a few months after our arrival, we began learning German and successfully reached the B1 level within six months. We quickly realized that combining work with continued language learning would open more opportunities for our future. As a result, we both started working in different companies while continuing to improve our German skills. My wife continued working to support our daily living expenses, and I began my second bachelor’s degree in International Information Systems (IIS) at Augsburg University of Applied Sciences. Today, we are also proud parents of a beautiful daughter, Sofia. Despite the challenges we have faced along the way, my wife and I are now building a happy, stable, and hopeful life in Germany.