Abbas Nazari

Abbas Nazari was born in Afghanistan and lived there until the age of seven. In mid-2001, his family sought asylum in Australia and thus began the journey across the world that eventually ended in New Zealand.

In 2008, after just six years of speaking English, Abbas placed third in the New Zealand National Spelling Bee. He is now in his final year at Burnside High School with the intention of studying Law and the Arts in Canterbury.

He has close ties to the Afghan Community in Christchurch. Earlier this year, he ventured back to his homeland with his father; an eye-opening experience that has furthered his interest in nurturing other Afghans to be proud of their culture and heritage.