For two refugee students in Jijiga, Ethiopia, a scholarship opportunity is about to change their lives. Against all odds, and with the support of their families and communities, they have an opportunity to embark on a new journey that will transform their lives and their community.
Fathi Mohamed Ubahle
"The only advice I have to give them is you have to try everything, If you cannot fly, you have to run and if you cannot run, walk, if you cannot walk, crawl but by all means do not stop. You have to try and try, it’s the only way, never give up." Says Fathi.
This is the mantra that 20-year-old Fathi Mohamed Ubahle has lived by. As a refugee in AwBarre camp located in Jijiga, Ethiopia, he dreamed of being a doctor since childhood. Despite his family lacking the financial resources to support his dream, they provided him with an unwavering emotional support. Courtesy of a DAFI scholarship, he was able to pursue an undergraduate degree in medical laboratory technology science at the University of Adigrat in Ethiopia.
In 2020, with just 100 days to graduate, the closure of his university due to COVID -19 seemingly disrupted all his plans when the graduation was indefinitely postponed.
"COVID-19 impacted me by stopping everything I had planned. We almost graduated then my education was postponed at that time." He recalls.
Fathi eventually graduated. Together with other graduate refugees, he took part in a workshop delivered by the UNHCR Telling the Real Story (TRS) project that was aimed at supporting refugees who were interested in furthering their education via the project UNICORE Scholarship that offers 43 refugee students the opportunity to pursue a Master’s degree program in any of 24 Italian universities.
Through the TRS workshop, students were provided with laptops, aided in navigating the scholarship pages, and provided with interview coaching to prepare them for the important admissions interview.
"I applied to a university called Milan University and the program I applied for was medical biotechnology and monocular medicine. Of course, I was very nervous because it was my first time to apply for a scholarship for further education outside of Africa ." Says Fathi.
Fathi was accepted to the program and his dream to be a doctor is now within reach. He looks forward to discovering many things while in Italy.
"Milan is the center of Fashion when it comes to Italy. I also want to know about their food and culture.” He adds.
Mohamed Hassan Malin
23-year-old Mohamed is the eldest in his family. Being the firstborn instilled a sense of responsibility in not just his family but his community.
“In my childhood, I was always dreaming to be someone who always contributes to his community, to empower and educate my community, I always dreamed of being a humanitarian.” Says Mohamed.
This drive led him to take up a degree in Sociology at the University of Adigrat in Ethiopia where he had the second-highest score of 3.82 out of 4. After graduation, he sought employment opportunities to no avail. The COVID-19 outbreak further exacerbated the situation and everything he had hoped for seemed out of reach.
Thanks to an awareness-raising session by Telling the Real Story project on available scholarship opportunities for refugees, he learned about the Project UNICORE Scholarships.
Mohamed applied to study International Relations at the University of Palermo and International Relations and European studies at the University of Florence. He was interviewed and accepted by both universities.
“It was the first time I was ever interviewed so yes; I was a bit nervous. I was confident in myself because I had been provided with everything to prepare me.” He says.
The news that he would be interviewed by both universities was met with jubilation by his family and friends.
Once in Italy, he looks forward to learning the culture and language and continue on his path to be a humanitarian.
To his friends and fellow refugees, he encourages them to believe in scholarship opportunities and sees himself as a testament that anybody with determination and hard work can obtain a scholarship and encourages his peers to not listen to negative narratives.
“The friends I had in the campus dropped out of the university because they assumed scholarships are fake," Mohamed recalls. “The advice I'm giving them is to not despair, do not lose hope. Make a positive difference, be someone different.” He adds.