University of Toronto graduate, Omer Malikyar is building a Toronto-based mentorship initiative that supports Afghan refugee youth in navigating post-secondary education, career pathways, and mental health challenges. “When I learned more about the Pathy Foundation Fellowship, past Fellow initiatives, and Alumnx trajectories, it felt like the perfect platform for me to start my own initiative, something I had always wanted to do,” Omer shares. “As an Afghan refugee myself, I’ve experienced the challenges of resettlement, navigating education, and finding support in a new country.”
The mentorship side of the initiative, Rahnuma, meaning “guide” or “guidance” in Farsi, is a platform to pair Afghan youth refugees who haverecently arrived in Canada with mentors who have already been through the Canadian post-secondary education system and are pursuing a professional path. “We’re matching professionals with mentees to provide support with various aspects of life, including their studies, career opportunities, and accessing resources,” Omer shares.
Along with Rahnuma’s one-on-on mentorship, Omer’s initiative, the Refugee Bridge Academy, also offers workshops and events for participants to learn about processes for admissions into post-secondary institutions, and skills related to professional networking, resume writing, and career exploration. “The mentees were really happy to learn more and practice skills at these events, we had around 100 people attend our networking event,” Omer shares.
In developing the initiative, Omer recruited 10 committed volunteers from the community who would support communications, workshops, and events. “It’s been rewarding for me to work with the team and be able to learn more about leadership and management skills,” Omer shares. In addition to his team of volunteers, Omer works to develop partnerships with organizations working in similar focus areas to support the implementation of workshops and events. “I’ve learned how to bring people together and into this circle in organizing these sessions,” Omer notes.
“Coming into the Fellowship year, I didn’t think there was going to be as much support as I have come to experience. I thought we would receive the funding and provide reporting at the end of the initiative. Instead, I’ve been able to vision the initiative, gain tangible skills in project management, ethics, and conflict resolution as well as receive mentorship, coaching, and periodic initiative support,” Omer shares. “The other Fellows in Cohort 10 have also played a significant role in my experience through the Fellowship, we have become such a supportive community, lifting each other up in our initiatives and in all aspects of our lives.”
During the Fellowship year, Omer was invited to a number of international forums to share the work of Refugee Bridge Academy, and has gained skills in advocacy as he highlights the importance of access to education for Afghan youth. Grounded in his own experience, his Fellowship initiative was an extension of a lifelong commitment to building opportunities for success and fulfilment for his peers.
As he approaches the final months of the Fellowship year, Omer will soon be hosting the concluding event for the Refugee Bridge Academy. “It feels so good to have delivered a very successful and impactful initiative for my community.” Looking forward, Omer will be interviewing mentees, mentors, and team members to record their stories and the ways the initiative has supported them in the hopes of continuing the initiative beyond the Fellowship year.
When asked how he defines success, Omer shares, “to me, success is hearing from the community about their experience. A mentee shared with me that she has received admissions from two universities after coming to Canada last year and while I don’t claim this achievement as a result of the Refugee Bridge Academy, I am proud to have connected her with resources and support to pursue this trajectory. This story and others in my community are how I would define success.”
To learn more about Omer’s Pathy Fellowship initiative, or the Pathy Foundation Fellowship, please visit PathyFellowship.com.
