Hossay Mariam Shareefy
Afghanistan
Mariam was born in Afghanistan and grew up in Pakistan. She currently works at Skateistan, providing youth access to sport and education. Through Watson University, Mariam’s goal is to develop skills needed to develop a vocational training program for street working youth in Afghanistan, empowing them to change their future.
"Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm… As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others".
- Audrey Hepburn
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Protect your courage
Passionate about cricket, Mariam was driven by a desire to provide poor children of Afghanistan a space where they can have fun and particpate in the benefits of sport. She later joined Skateistan, an innovative Afghan based NGO, which uses sports and education to unite and empower youth.
Mariam was born in Afghanistan, to a family that values the power of education and thoughtful inquiry about the structures of their society. She left her birthplace at the age of 7 as a result of Taliban, and grew up in Pakistan, where she was quite an active child who played cricket and climbed from trees to the street lights. She returned to her home, Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban to help in its development.
Upon returning to Afghanistan, she studied Educational Psychology in Kabul University. Passionate about rock-climbing, Mariam was driven by a desire to provide females and poor children of Afghanistan a space where they can have fun and particpate in the benefits of sport. She later joined Skateistan, an innovative Afghan based NGO, which uses sports and education to unite and empower youth. Through her work, Mariam is able to assist in the goal of empowering street children and females in Afghanistan through her leadership.
In September 2012, four of Skateistan’s talented students and her young colleagues were killed in a suicide bomb carried by a teenagerin Kabul. This incident gave Mariam a drive to change the economic situation for street children in Afghanistan so they have other outlets for action. Her focus has tightened to provide access to education and sport for youth through the creation of an entreprenuership and rock-climbing school for females and street-working children in Afghanistan.
