Afghan Refugee Negara Nazari Wins UNHCR Nansen Award for Building School That Educates Hundreds of Displaced Children in Tajikistan

When Negara Nazari fled Afghanistan and arrived in Tajikistan as a refugee, she found herself in a painful paradox: she was safe from the dangers she'd left behind, but the young Afghan refugees around her — children and teenagers — had no access to education. Local schools were full, language barriers were immense, and no programs existed to serve displaced Afghan students.

Rather than accept this reality, Nazari decided to change it. She co-founded the Ariana Learning Centre, a school specifically designed to educate young Afghan refugees in Tajikistan. Starting with almost nothing — no funding, no building, no official recognition — she built the school through sheer determination, community support, and an unshakable belief that every child deserves to learn.

“Local schools were full, language barriers were immense, and no programs existed to serve displaced Afghan students.”

The Ariana Learning Centre now educates hundreds of Afghan refugee children and teenagers, offering instruction in core academic subjects as well as language training to help students integrate into Tajik society. The school serves students who would otherwise receive no formal education at all — children whose educational journeys were interrupted by conflict, displacement, and the collapse of girls' education in Afghanistan.

For her extraordinary work, Nazari was named a regional winner of the prestigious UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award, which honors individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to protecting refugees, displaced, and stateless people. The award committee praised her dedication to ensuring that displacement does not mean the end of educational opportunity.

Nazari's story is particularly powerful because she herself understands the experience of her students. As a refugee, she knows the trauma of displacement, the fear of an uncertain future, and the transformative power of education in rebuilding lives. Her students don't just receive lessons in math and literature — they receive the message that someone believes in their future.

The Ariana Learning Centre has become a model for refugee education initiatives, demonstrating that with creativity, commitment, and community support, the education gap for displaced children can be bridged — even in the most challenging circumstances.