سلام من ارسلان هست
-Hi
-Hi
-Hi everyone
-Hi everyone
-I'm Arsalan
-I'm Arsalan
Hi I'm Humaira Rahbin and
this is my son Arsalan
We are from Afghanistan and I study
at the University of Cambridge
Back in Afghanistan I did my
Bachelor's in political science
and MA in international relations
and I worked with several NGOs
and also international organisations
My latest job was with the Dutch embassy
as Gender and Development adviser
and I've worked with as at policy level
for women's rights and also gender equality
There's a severe need for women at policy
level and also decision-making positions
and that drove me to go
for a degree in public policy
because I think we need more experts in
this area and especially women experts
Of course it's very different kind of
lifestyle in Afghanistan than here
Here I felt that I have the
option and also the freedom
to make some decisions that I
couldn't make back at home
so that was the first
impression I got from here
and the serious thing was
that when studies started
I really realised that okay you're
in at the University of Cambridge
Settling in at Cambridge and also the department has
been very heartwarming and very good
because they understand that there are a
lot of international students as well
there are people coming from Japan, from
China, from Afghanistan, from Egypt, from Syria
so there are people with different backgrounds
and they're coming from different countries
a lot of worldviews, different
angles that you can see
sometimes as a person who is a bit
experienced and has already done an MA
and also you see a person with a
different age or different experience
you can see the world
from a different angles
you can find the opportunity to
see how they are seeing the world
The level of education is
beyond what I expected
it's very high, you have to study a lot
you have to learn and
also along with that
there are opportunities that you can
connect with different groups of people
make your own networks
participate in events
so yeah a lot of opportunities ready
for you to grab and learn and flourish
Luckily I found out about Rowan
Williams Cambridge Studentship
which supports students
coming from conflict zones
countries where it's not very easy
for them to continue studying
and also find the opportunity
to be in Cambridge
This is organised by Cambridge
Refugee Scholarship Campaign
which is run by students at
the University of Cambridge
and the students have
been super supportive
not just in terms of
establishing such a program
but also helping students
adapt in a new environment
introducing them to other students
at the University of Cambridge
and also helping them settle in
Balancing motherhood with
studying, I have my own tricks
to manage my time and also
spend time with my family
with my son and also do my studying
and I also understand that you have
to put double energy in your studying
so what I do is I stay awake more two
hours or three hours in the night
so that way really helps
me to not lag behind
The first thing Arsalan said when he
arrived in the UK was we are here in London
and let's go to the park,
let's go shopping
so things were that easy for him
all he knows is that there
is a different environment
but the thing is that the
environment is very positive
people are smiling wherever he goes
they're thanking each other
for very little favours
it gives him a kind of positive energy
so he doesn't feel we are not from here
Maybe it's because he's always
been with me in my travels
that's why he is a kind of 'globalised kid.'
Fortunately I come from a family
both my own family
and also my in-laws
that they're very supportive
of whatever decision I make
and it's right for my future and
career and also for my family
so my husband has
been super supportive
he supported me to be here, even
though I'm alone and he's in Afghanistan
and also my in-laws, my own family,
they have been very supportive
we are in touch, they're calling me every
day and always they encourage me to work harder
I really miss my husband, the person who
is like involved and behind all this success
I know he misses us as well, though
we are like in touch on a daily basis
whenever we talk with each other
about how much we miss each other
then we think of the big goal that
we are hoping to achieve in life
so that's why we say it's not
a permanent situation
we will be back together
Thank you so much everyone
for watching I hope you enjoyed it
to find out more about the Rowan
Williams Cambridge Studentship
and other scholarships, you can click
on the link in the description
