Blog

ACII Alumni Spotlight Series: Young Afghan Refugees & Hope for a Better Future in Canada

The ACII Alumni Spotlight Series features original pieces by participants from Round 1 of our Afghan Community Impact Incubator (ACII) reflecting on their community service projects and lessons learned. By Ramiz Bakhtiar, ACII Round 1 ChangeMaker, on behalf of The Hope Project As a young newcomer in Canada, I’ve been told that finding a job is mostly about “Who you know”. I’ve been told that “Here, you need to forget about what you were doing Read more…

By AYEDI Team, ago

ACII Alumni Spotlight Series: Let’s Talk Money Moves

The ACII Alumni Spotlight Series features original pieces by participants from Round 1 of our Afghan Community Impact Incubator (ACII) reflecting on their community service projects and lessons learned. By Manzora Nero, ACII Round 1 ChangeMaker, on behalf of Let’s Talk “Money comes and goes, but if you have the education about how money works, you gain power over it and can begin building wealth.” – Robert Kiyosaki in Rich Dad, Poor Dad. We launched Read more…

By AYEDI Team, ago

Reflections from My Journey of Grief and Loss

By Ferozan Nasiri, AYEDI Outreach Director Featured image credit: Doan Ly “I became more comfortable when I stopped talking about grief like it goes away. It’s kind of an endless room with endless windows, and the view outside is just better out of some windows than it is out of others.” — Hanif Abdurraqib One day, while waiting in line at a local food bank to pick up hamper bags for a client, I was Read more…

By AYEDI Team, ago

Reflections from a Diaspora Afghan: Exploring Identity, Community, and the Afghan Saviour Complex

By Veeda Tanwir, AYEDI Events and Sponsorship Director Afghanistan. To those of us in the diaspora, it is a place so far away, but near and dear to our hearts. To those who had to flee, it is a place that gives them combined feelings of pain and love. To those still there, it is a place that has been stripped of its potential. To those like myself who have never been there, it is Read more…

By AYEDI Team, ago

Finding Your Way: Advice For Youth (From an Older Youth)

By Wares Fazelyar, AYEDI Advisory Board Member There’s a stage in life where you’re incessantly asked what you want to do with your life, what you’re studying, what you plan to do after you graduate, and so on. Maybe you know the answer to these questions and have everything figured out to the smallest detail. Or perhaps you’re not sure and these questions evoke anxiety. Maybe you have some idea, or maybe you feel completely Read more…

By AYEDI Team, ago

Reflections on 2020

  Salaam friend,  2020 was an unpredictable year. It brought challenge and change for all of us. For many, it put significant strain on individuals, families, and communities. And yet, we also observed the resilience and generosity of Afghan youth. We shared our struggles with mental health during a pandemic. We discovered new ways of connecting with our friends, colleagues, family, and most importantly, ourselves. We supported local Afghan businesses. We stuck together. Today, I write to Read more…

By AYEDI Team, ago

Reflections on 2019

  Salaam everyone, We would like to wish everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year 2020. Here are some of AYEDI’s highlights for 2019: We had our first ever Afghan Youth Community Impact Conference in March 2019 with over 55+ registered attendees! See photos here Ran a successful Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) campaign to encourage Afghan youth to vote in the 2019 federal election. See photos here Launched the first ever Afghan Vote Coalition, a group of Afghan-led organizations who have united to send a Read more…

By AYEDI Team, ago

Sept 2019 blog: My Story As A Hijabi Afghan Muslim Woman

As a Muslim Afghan Woman who wears a Hijab, I grew up always thinking to myself, “Where do I belong”? Sometimes I still feel like I ask myself this question even now. I guess life is a continuous journey of learning and self-evaluating. Identifying as a Muslim woman who wears a hijab, it gave me a sense of identity amongst Afghan family and friends. Now adding Afghan culture brings a whole set of different rules Read more…

By AYEDI Team, ago

May 2019 Blog: Maryam Monsef & Lessons on Resilience

  Maryam Monsef is a household name among Afghans in Canada and abroad. We know her accomplishments: She came to Canada as a refugee from Afghanistan in 1996. After being elected MP in 2015, she currently holds two ministerial portfolios. She was the 1st ever Afghan to be elected to any level of government in Canadian history. A trailblazer in so many ways. This blog post is not about reiterating all of the work she Read more…

By AYEDI Team, ago

Reflections on 2018 – here we come, 2019!

Welcome to our very first blog post Salaam everyone, 2018 was a landmark year for us – it is the year that we officially launched the Afghan Youth Engagement and Development Initiative (AYEDI), the first Afghan youth-led organization in Canada with the broad goal of (1) cultivating civic engagement and political leadership skills in Afghan-Canadian youth and (2) building their personal and social development. Here are some highlights of our past year: We went live Read more…

By AYEDI Team, ago