From Kabul to the Classroom: Adeeb Nawim’s Path to Teaching

Before arriving in Australia, Adeeb Nawim had built a career most people could only dream of. In Afghanistan, he was a university lecturer, a Ministry of Education adviser and a political anchor on one of the country’s major television stations.

Then, in 2021, the Afghan government collapsed. Adeeb arrived in Australia and started this new chapter of his life. “Everything was new – the culture, the system, the language,” he says.

Adeeb began as an Orientation Guide with AMES (Adult Multicultural Education Services) Australia, helping fellow refugees settle into their new lives. Then he took on a role as a Multicultural Education Aide at Narre Warren South P–12 College – a school in Melbourne’s southeast, where many students share his Afghan heritage.

It was there that something shifted. “I started seeing the students, especially those from multicultural backgrounds, looking to me for guidance,” Adeeb says.

“I realised that I wasn’t just an aide, I was a bridge, providing opportunity for people who need help – and also, I felt useful again.”

That realisation led him to apply for Teach For Australia’s Undergraduate Teaching Program (UTP).

His school community backed him every step of the way. “They saw me not just for the job I was doing, but for the person I was and the experience I carry,” he says. “They gave me the confidence and belief that my international expertise had a home here in Victoria.”

Now, Adeeb is working toward the moment he stands at the front of the classroom as a fully qualified teacher, in the country he now calls home.

“Even when you lose your home, you never lose your ability to contribute.”

Watch Adeeb share his story in his own words.

Interested in the UTP? Visit TFA’s UTP information page.