• Muzhgan Hamraz worked in areas of Gender Studies. During her fellowship she contributed to McMaster university’s Participedia Project by writing entries about projects and initiatives aimed at promoting democracy in Afghanistan including:

a) Urban Conservation Training and Curriculum Development at Kabul University (https://participedia.net/case/12316)
b) SVA Library Projects in Afghanistan ()
c) Bayan II Project in Afghanistan ()
d) Afghanistan’s Peace Education Program ()
e) National Center for Policy Research ()
f) The National Citizen Charter Program ()
g) Afghanistan Women’s Empowerment Program (AWEP) ()
h) Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan (CW4WA) ()

• Ms. Hamraz was also working a research project on an assessment of the performance of local Research Centers in
Afghanistan over the last two decades; the Case of National Center for Policy Research (NCPR) at Kabul University but was unable to finish it before the end of her fellowship due to health issues.

• Heading an initiative to establish culturally sensitive mental health services for Afghan newcomers in Canada, starting from Southern Ontario and potentially expanding nationwide. He is leveraging the expertise of these culturally competent professionals to bridge the gap between the high demand for culturally relevant mental health services and the available resources. He has successfully gathered a group of Afghan mental health professionals and is actively discussing how to proceed with the initiative.

• Leading the writing of a proposal in collaboration with Refugee Health to secure funds from United Way.

• Additional key steps include identifying and assessing the qualifications of Afghan mental health professionals, developing specialized training programs, facilitating accreditation and licensing, integrating professionals into existing service delivery systems, and continuously evaluating and improving the program.

• Collaborating on a research project documenting the experiences of Afghan refugees displaced and living in limbo in Tajikistan. The project is led by Rohina Zaffari (previously from Kabul University, and now with Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association). Dr. Rasooli is assisting with data cleaning and analysis. Researchers hope to have the data analyzed and written up by the end of this year.

• Dr. Rasooli is a member of two active research groups at Laurier: The Centre for Research on Security Practices (CRSP) and the Global Adversity and Wellbeing (GAWB) Research Group.