Sanctuary Scholarships: Javid’s journey to Deakin

As a child, Javid Mohammadi watched a volunteer doctor from Médecins Sans Frontières save his mother’s life in a UN refugee camp in Iran. An Afghan Hazara born into the life of a refugee, Javid wasn’t allowed to attend school but that didn’t stop him dreaming of becoming a doctor and continuing the kindness shown to his family.

Watch Javid’s story

When Javid and his family arrived in Australia in 2013, he went to school for the first time at 14 years old. Javid’s dream seemed within reach as he worked hard at learning English and catching up to his peers but when the Federal Government introduced new regulations in 2016, his dream came crashing down. Re-classified as an international student, Javid was no longer eligible to receive HELP support and his only hope was a scholarship.

Javid describes the day that he received a Sanctuary Scholarship from Deakin as “very big news which give (sic) me hope…that made it possible to dream big”.

“Once you provide [students] with hope, they can dream. They can utilise, they can seize that opportunity.”

Javid is now studying Vision Science/Optometry and hoping to progress to study medicine so he can one day join Médecins Sans Frontières in refugee camps around the world.

About Deakin University’s Sanctuary Scholarships

According to the UN Refugee Agency, less than one per cent of refugees and asylum seekers are able to attend university, compared to the 34 per cent of university-age young people worldwide enrolled in tertiary education.

Deakin is committed to providing access to higher education for students seeking asylum or from refugee backgrounds residing in Australia who could not otherwise afford the cost of university study.

Deakin will more than quadruple its Sanctuary Scholarships for asylum seekers and refugees by 2020, providing tuition fees, housing and study expenses for 19 people on bridging, temporary protection or regional five-year visas.