Maryam Sahar Naqibullah, a 19-year-old former Afghan interpreter, is now studying at Carleton thanks to a stranger and the crowdsourcing campaign he launched.
After working in Canada for many months, Sahar said she decided that it was time for her to start looking toward the future and university, but could not afford to due to a lack of income from the Afghan Interpreter Immigration Program (AIIP).
While employed by the Canadian and American forces in Afghanistan, Sahar said she received threats from the Taliban and experienced challenges such as the death of two close friends in 2009 and the brutal beating of her brother in 2011.
Although she relocated with the AIIP to Canada in October 2011, Sahar said she will always take pride in her home country.
“Afghanistan is talked about so negatively in the media. I have such high hopes and dreams for it. One day, I want to return and make it the place I believe it could be,” she said.
David Brooks, a Carleton alumnus, said he heard about Sahar’s story from an article in the Ottawa Citizen. Although he had never met Sahar, Brooks said he and his family set up the Indiegogo crowdsource campaign because of her compelling story.
Sahar said she hopes to complete an undergraduate degree in international relations.
The future has endless possibilities, she said, adding that she has hopes of becoming a politician to advocate for women’s issues.
“My father always believed education was a top priority—that a daughter needs an education,” she said.
Brooks said he believes the Carleton community has a chance to step up and recognize the incredible personal risks and sacrifices that Sahar has made, with respect to the Canadian mission in Afghanistan and in human rights.
To date, the Indiegogo campaign created by Brooks has raised $9,911 towards her education.
Sahar said she is elated by the amount of generosity that Canadians have proven to possess.
“There are no words in my dictionary to thank them,” she said, “So to everyone who has donated, and to David, the best I can do is work hard and prove myself.”
