22. Helping a Syrian refugee complete his graduate studies in Sheffield - August 2020


Mo is a Syrian refugee, who was looking to raise funds to help him achieve his dream of completing a university course here in Sheffield, giving him the chance to rebuild his life and give back to his new UK home.


In the mid 2000s, Mo used to manage an internet cafe in Syria. In 2010, after he completed his undergraduate degree in IT with some of the best grades in the year, he was about to sit technical exams in CISCO (the tools that make the internet happen) when war broke out. His life was threatened because of his use of the internet to criticise the regime. For the last 10 years he's been travelling, chancing, surviving and striving to find a place where he can start to re-imagine and re-build his life. 


He has been given 5 years Right To Remain, and is hoping to settle in the UK after that.


The Home Office chose Sheffield for him and as luck would have it, Sheffield Hallam University happened to have the perfect university course - Advanced Computer Networks  - and he has successfully applied for a place.


Mo has been offered home student fees (£7,420) and when applying, was told he could apply for a loan from Student Finance England. However, after being accepted on the course, he found out that he wouldn't be able to borrow the money until 2021 due to long delays (2 years) in receiving his refugee status.  Mo really doesn't want to wait any longer so he's been working, looking for grants, and saving like fury to get the fees together. He is also hoping to work over the duration of the course to pay for living costs.


Mo loves it in Sheffield and the UK.  He wants to give back to the country that adopted and supported him after fleeing war torn Syria.


Vanessa told us that Mo was looking to raise £5,000 to help fund the fees of £7,420 for his course. He was just a little short of his target when we heard about him and so we were delighted to be able to put £300 to get him to his goal.


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