Afghan refugee found by motorway completes architecture degree

Salman Khan has finished his degree and is now working for an architecture practice

A former child refugee who arrived in the UK unable to speak English has graduated with an architecture degree.

Salman Khan, 25, fled war-torn Afghanistan as a boy and began a six-month journey through snow and mountains.

Mr Khan was 12 years old when he was found walking next to a UK motorway and taken to a police station before going into foster care in Leicestershire.

Leicestershire County Council said: "Salman's story is inspiring."

Salman Khan, pictured here with his foster parents, finished his undergraduate degree at the University of Lincoln in 2017

Mr Khan said it was his dream to build schools in Afghanistan because he said: "[It's] a war-torn country and someone has to rebuild it".

"This is the whole reason I chose it [to study architecture]," he added.

"I have a friend who said 'I will build it' and I said 'I will design it'."

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After leaving his family in Afghanistan and travelling with strangers, he spent a few weeks in temporary care before being given a home with a foster family in Blaby, Leicestershire

He learned English with the help of his foster parents and social workers while attending South Wigston High School, before going on to Guthlaxton College and the universities of Lincoln and Kent.

"When I went to school, I was shocked at the facilities they had. It was so different from what I knew, there was even carpet on the floor," he said.

"It was not the way it was [back home] but I did not realise that was not normal.

"When I came here it gave me a sense I was missing opportunities. It was a shock really. The amount of help I got here was tremendous."

Salman Khan is now supporting the work of a campaign to recruit foster carers to support young refugees

Mr Khan, who lives in Uppingham, Rutland, said he was inspired to work hard by his foster family.

"They have got degrees - they are accountants and doctors," he said.

"There were photos of their graduations outside my bedroom, every time I came out. I wanted my photo on that wall too."

Mr Khan is now supporting the work of Place To Call Home. a regional campaign led by Leicestershire County Council to recruit foster carers to support young refugees in the East Midlands.

Deborah Taylor, from Leicestershire County Council, said: "He's a young man who has dealt with many hardships but, with the support of a kind and loving family, has flourished and achieved a life ambition."

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