Mansoor left his home in Afghanistan as a teenager. After facing a lot of disruption to his education, he found himself unable to afford his final year of university due to his status as an asylum-seeker. This is the story of how Mansoor overcame this final obstacle to completing his education and achieved his goal of becoming a Dental Hygienist, against all odds.
Mansoor fled his home in Afghanistan and came to the UK seeking asylum aged 15. When he was 27, Mansoor heard about Hope for the Young and decided to apply for one of our education grants. By that time, he was in his final year studying a BSc in Dental Hygiene at the University of Portsmouth.
Despite having lived in the UK for almost half his life, Mansoor wasn’t eligible to apply for student finance because he was an asylum-seeker with Discretionary Leave to Remain.
He had scraped together the funds to pay for his first and second years of university through some personal savings and loans from friends. However, by the time the third and final year of his degree had come around, Mansoor found himself unable to afford to complete his university education.
Education means a lot to me and I have always tried to strive against all odds to get educated.
Mansoor had already contacted many organisations offering grants and scholarships to young people but had no success. At age 27, he wasn’t eligible for many of the scholarships available, which were restricted to people aged 25 years and under.
After facing many financial obstacles throughout his education and having to withdraw from his studies several times, Mansoor feared that he would now have to drop out of university at the final hurdle.
If I hadn’t received the grant, it would have made me hopeless. It helped me tremendously in completing my studies.
Then, Mansoor applied to our Grants and Advocacy Programme and received a grant from us towards his tuition fees.
This enabled Mansoor to complete his final year at university. He graduated in the summer with Upper Second Class Honours – an incredible achievement and a very proud moment for Mansoor after such a long and difficult journey to complete his education.
This grant has helped me in the critical stage of my life and currently, I don’t face any difficulties.
Mansoor has now gone on to secure a job as a Dental Hygienist and is loving his work.
He encourages other young people seeking safety to reach out to organisations like Hope for the Young:
Those who are in a similar situation should reach out to similar organisations like Hope for the Young. There are a lot of generous and supportive groups of individuals out there.
We are so proud of Mansoor for the strength and determination he’s shown to complete his education, against all odds.
We know that he will excel in his career as a Dental Hygienist and we wish him the best of luck for the future!
Your support could allow more young people like Mansoor to complete their education and achieve their dreams.
Click the link below to donate and help us provide education grants to more young people seeking safety!