Help Rabia get her PhD at Cambridge

Aim

Helping Rabia with PhD tuition fees at Cambridge

Let me tell you about this amazing young lady

Hello,  my name is Kay, utterly unimportant, but you need to know who it is making this appeal.

I first met Rabia Nasimi a few years ago, when I interviewed her for a job.  I knew then that she was someone special, someone with real values, and at that time she was studying for her bachelors.

I soon came to believe that Rabia is someone who will make a difference to this world and this belief has grown as I have gotten to know her better.  I love this girl so much.

Rabia's parents left war torn Afghanistan with their children at the end of the 1990's, arriving in London not knowing where life was going to take them.  At that time women and girls  in Afghanistan had no access to education.  Rabia has been fortunate to have supportive parents, who encourage her in achieving her goals.

Rabia now has a Bachelors and a Masters and works over 40 hours  a week, unpaid, helping refugees, mainly from Afghanistan but also other Central Asian Countries and is about to start her PhD is Sociology at Cambridge, which in itself is an amazing achievement.

This appeal is to help fund just the tuition element of Rabia's PhD

RESEARCH

Afghanistan is an important country within the South Asian region.  This is due to its geographical significance Afghanistan is an important country within the region, where foreign interventions have exacerbated ethnic and cultural tension.

Aims

The research aims to:

• examine how changing patterns of ethnicity and inequalities relate to the ways in which ethnic identities are perceived, acted upon and experienced
• explore the ways in which categories of ethnicity have been constructed and contested, why certain categories have become salient and the dynamics of debates around categories.
• examine the way in which individuals come to identify with, or resist, ethnic categorisation and the role of agencies in the promotion of classification schemes

FEES!

The real cost of the whole PhD, with research fees, travel and living costs will be in the region of £23,000 a year.  

I would like to raise the tuition fees for the PhD in Sociology are £7857 to help Rabia achieve this goal.

Why support Rabia?

There are so many great causes needing funding!  There are so many people looking for help with student fees and to meet other needs.  By supporting Rabia you contribute to the future.  The future of Afghanistan and its people.  by giving whatever you can afford will help make the world a better place.

How much to donate!

Honestly, every £1 counts.  If you can afford £5, £10, £50 or more, I know that Rabia will be grateful.

If you can't afford to donate yourself, maybe you could collect amongs friends, have a book sale, or get friends to pool loose change to send together, or sell some home made cakes in work.  Those heart filled activities are extra special.

If you can share this appeal amongst your friends, family and colleagues that would help greatly.

Thank you in advance.

MORE ABOUT RABIA

Committed to improving life for refugees, Rabia Nasimi is the Strategic Development Manager with the Afghanistan and Central Asian Assiociation, and works for many many hours, unpaid.  Always modest and unpretentious and yet everyone that you speak to will tell you that she is very special, and has a way of making others feel special too.

Achievements

In 2015 Rabia was nominated for Afghan Professionals Network Aspire Award for her outstanding achievements in the field of contribution to the community

2013    Rabia received the Gold Award from Goldsmiths university recognizing the outstanding development of extra-curricular skills and abilities

Rabia's Activities: 

November 2016:  Inspiring Space for Women , Guest speaker at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge  

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of women studying at Trinity Hall. Delivered a speech focusing on my journey as a woman from Afghanistan whose family arrived to the UK as a refugee. I also reflected on the work I have achieved working at the ACAA, and discussed the effectiveness of charities in giving a voice to marginalised and traumatised women.

 October 2016: Empowered Women Prosperous Afghanistan , Brussels, Belgium

Attended high profile event which signalled the strong priority attached to the protection and empowerment of women by the Government, the EU and the international community.

January 2016:  Researcher , Al Jazeera     

Research and translation for the Listening Post (weekly media review and analysis show) - Aired 30th January 2016.  An in-depth report providing a critical perspective on journalism and media freedom in Afghanistan following the fatal attack on Tolo TV journalists in Kabul.

Volunteering

Oct 2016:   Research Intern, Quilliam Foundation think tank  

Conducted background research and social media content analysis for a project on "Reciprocal radicalisation: How the far right and Islamist extremists feed off each other" Creating contents for the online workshop platform of the Families Against Terrorism and Extremism network.

Why is it me and not Rabia making this appeal?

As you have seen, Rabia works hard, very hard and this is presently unpaid.  When Rabia was offered a place at Cambridge ofcourse everyone is over joyed.  A difficult decision had to be made, as to whether she accepted this honour, or accpeted and amazing job opportunity that was offered at around the same time.  Rabia believes that her research will inform and shape the Afghanistan of the future, and improve lives of millions of people.   But how to pay for the PhD?

I suggested crowdfunding, but Rabia was reluctant and doesn't want to ask for help.  But I nagged and nagged and offered to make the appeal.  I believe in this young lady.  So she agreed to let me do it.  I got online immediately, before she changed her mind.

A MESSAGE FROM RABIA

Thank you so much for putting this page together, it means so much to know that someone who was a complete stranger not so long ago, can think so highly of you and also believe in your abilities.  I am thankful for the guidance of Kay and was so happy to have the bes 'First Employer' experience.  We spoke of adoption quite a lot while I was at work with Kay, and if that was an option, I wouldn't think twice.

This project successfully funded on 26th September 2017