Meet Tamim Saidkhili: A Testament to Resilience and Opportunity

October 2025

We sat down with Tamim Saidkhili to reflect on his inspiring four-year journey through college, the challenges he’s overcome, and the future he’s now ready to embrace.

• Can you tell us about a moment when you realized that going to college was actually possible for you?

  The most important thing that makes studying possible is that the conditions be peaceful and secure. In peace and quiet, it is possible to go to the university and to concentrate on the academics. Although peace and security are important, educational expenses are also very important, to complete our goals. Fortunately, it was with the help of the FEDAA organization that I was given the opportunity to continue my education.

• What has been the most rewarding part of your college experience so far?

  Overall, all aspects of the university have been valuable and satisfying for me. The most valuable of these for me has been to learn and gain knowledge in my Legal field. The best experiences for me have been the mock trials and professional competitions, held in the presence of the university administration.

• What challenges have you faced during your studies, and how have you managed to overcome them?

  It is worth mentioning that this scholarship has prevented many financial challenges from arising for me while pursuing my education. The biggest challenge that I experienced was exactly when I was in my first semester of university when I was illegally arrested and imprisoned by the Taliban. After spending a few days in a Taliban prison, no crime was proven against me and it finally turned out that I was proven completely innocent. I was then released. This was really a very big misunderstanding and was a difficult and unfair challenge for me to undergo.

• How do you hope your education will help your family, community, or country in the future?

   I have great hope that  in the future I will be able to support my family and have an excellent life. I will be able to work as a prosecutor, a judge,  or a legal advisor in one of the governmental or non governmental institutions of my country. In this way I can serve by providing justice for the people of my community. 

• If you could say one thing directly to the people who made your scholarship possible, what would that be?

  My message to the donors who made this scholarship possible is first to express sincere gratitude for giving me a scholarship and providing me with the financial support necessary in such difficult circumstances. With the help of donors, I could continue my education. In a place and situation in which our people are  in poverty, the cost of education is high, and the difficulties are hard to overcome, I was very fortunate to continue my good education because of the help that made it affordable for me. I hope the scholarship will continue so that I can continue pursuing my master's degree in this way. I want to express my  sincere thanks to the donors and FEDAA for their  financial support.