Koha Refugee Award recipient finds ‘freedom through education’

Now 27, Hussain arrived in New Zealand two years ago through the Community Organisation Refugee Sponsorship scheme. At just 16, after being threatened and beaten by the Taliban, he paid a people smuggler to help him escape his home country and get to Indonesia. What he expected to be a temporary stop instead became nearly a decade in a detention centre – an experience he describes as being “like a prison”.

Despite the harsh conditions, Hussain nevertheless held tightly to his desire to learn. 

“I always had a great hunger for knowledge and education,” he says.

With little access to formal schooling, Hussain turned to the internet, using online courses to teach himself English. He also studied psychology and photography.

“I came to find freedom through education.”

It was during this time that Hussain also discovered creative writing – a practice that not only helped him process his trauma but would also change the direction of his life. While still in detention, he sent an email to the University’s Emeritus Professor Helen Sword, who runs an online writing community. Moved by his words, she began mentoring him and eventually helped him make the journey to Aotearoa.

“She’s the best thing that happened to me in my whole life,” Hussain says.

After arriving in New Zealand at the end of 2023, Hussain enrolled in the University of Auckland’s New Start initiative – a bridging programme designed to prepare students for undergraduate study.

And in 2025, Hussain received the Koha Refugee Award, which provides financial support throughout his degree. He describes the award as “life-changing”.

“I arrived in New Zealand without any family or community support, and I was desperate for financial help to keep going with my studies. So when I received the refugee award, I was so, so happy.”

He says it’s also heartening to know that this kind of support exists for others with similar backgrounds.

“We refugees are extremely driven, because we have been through so many difficulties. We really appreciate the opportunities we are given here, especially in education. Financial support and scholarships help us to not give up.”

Now in his second year of a Bachelor of Arts conjoint degree, majoring in Psychology and Communications, Hussain hopes to continue on to postgraduate study, in either clinical psychology or psychotherapy. Alongside his academic ambitions, he remains committed to creative writing and to helping others rebuild their lives. 

“I want to help as many people as I can,” he says. “And I want to give back to the community.”