Volunteer of the Month - June 2016

Khushnazar was born and raised in Afghanistan. He graduated Kabul University with a MA Economics, and completed his doctoral studies at Tajikistan State University, achieving a PhD in History. He has been an educationist for more than 30 years, teaching math and science to students and later providing advanced training to other teachers. Khushnazar has dedicated his life not only to educating others but also to improving himself. He enjoys reading and writing poetry, listening to music and walking.

Khushnazar had to leave his native country as the Taliban captured Kabul. Initially, he moved to Pakistan where he lived 17 years, and then to Canada. It has been three years since Khushnazar calls himself a Calgarian. Moving to Canada was not an easy undertaking. Some of his major challenges were the language and the Western culture. He also had to expand his personal and professional network in order to succeed. An ambitious man by nature, Khushnazar set up goals for himself and focused on achieving them.

He believes in helping others and positive acting; for that reason, volunteering was one step in the right direction. This is how Immigrant Services Calgary was introduced to this wonderfully generous, talented and dedicated man. He joined our Volunteer Program less than a year ago, but he has already volunteered more than 50 hours. Khushnazar is a respected tutor for the Homework Clubs at ISC and a real asset for the Language Bank, as a volunteer translator and interpreter for the languages of Dari, Pushto, and Farsi.

Congratulations Khushnazar!