An asylum seeker who came to Wales not being able to speak a word of English is now hoping to study Pharmacy at university and work in medical science in memory of his mother, who died of liver cancer. Hisham Saeed, who arrived in Wales in 2017 aged 20 had never been to school but has now bagged a top award for his commitment to learning.
Raised in Mosul in northern Iraq, Hisham lost his mother when he was very young and didn't have a chance to attend school. His grandparents encouraged him to flee the war in Iraq in search of safety, and he eventually ended up in Swansea after a long, treacherous journey to the UK.
Hisham explained: "I lived with my grandparents and I had to look after the farm. My grandfather taught me how to read and write. But when the war came, we had to move and leave everything."
