Born in Yemen but raised in Saudi Arabia from the age of two, Zaid's early life was marked by ambition and academic promise. He moved through school systems shaped by Indian and British curricula, his parents sacrificing everything to give him and his sisters an English-speaking education. But in a land where your right to exist is directly tied to your father's job, their entire life crumbled the day his father lost his employment.

The weight of Saudi Arabia’s sudden taxes on non-citizen families, fees that grew not with income but with family size, was crushing. And when they looked to Yemen as a fallback, what they found was not refuge but war. "Gunshots and explosions were a daily occurrence," Zaid recalls. “Me and my mother fled and never went back.”

By 2022, it was clear: Zaid had no home to return to. He crossed from the U.S. into Canada alone, stepping into a future defined by uncertainty.

The Loneliest Start

His first stop was immigration detention. Then a blur of shelters in Montreal. When he expressed a desire to move to Toronto because English was more familiar, the tone shifted. “I had one night in a hotel shelter,” he says, “then was told to leave by the next night.”

With no one waiting on the other side, Zaid navigated his way to a Megabus ticket office, which had already closed. The Red Cross line went unanswered; it was the weekend. Still, he found his way to Toronto. Alone. Tired. Barely 18.

After more than 14 hours calling central intake at a shelter office, a bed finally opened at 3 a.m. at Covenant House. “It was super lonely. A free-for-all. If you didn’t keep calling for hours, you didn’t get help.” For a young man already pushed to the edge of survival, this might’ve been the breaking point. But instead, it was a turning point.

A Hand in the Dark

At Covenant House, Zaid met a case worker who changed his life. They connected him with Pathways to Education and Regent Park Community Health Centre—and with them, came the first true sense of stability.

“They were my family here,” Zaid says, his voice steady. “The Student Parent Support Workers—those were adults I could trust. People who asked about me. Who actually cared.”

Pathways gave him more than academic guidance. They gave him community. Life skills workshops. Mentorship. Graduation camp trip that etched permanent joy into his memory. And, when it came time to take the next step, a scholarship that unlocked the doors to post-secondary education.

In 2024, Zaid was named the recipient of the $20,000 Béland Honderich Award one of the most prestigious scholarships offered through Pathways to Education. Established by a gift from Torstar Inc. to honour former Toronto Star publisher Beland Honderich and later sustained by Honderich’s own personal contribution, the award exists to open the doors of university to students from Regent Park, Moss Park, Rivertowne, St. Jamestown, and other downtown-east Toronto neighbourhoods. Its purpose is simple but profound: to ensure that bright young people with enormous potential are not denied higher education simply because of poverty, displacement, or hardship.

For Zaid, the award was nothing short of life-changing. “The Béland Honderich Award from Pathways didn’t just help,” he says, eyes glistening. “It made everything possible. Without it, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be studying.”

Freed from the crushing weight of financial stress, Zaid was able to accept his enrollment offer at York University. The scholarship didn’t just pay for tuition, it gave him the freedom to invest in himself, his education, and his future.

That summer, through the MTO (Moving Towards Opportunity) Program, a employment training program ran by Pathways to Education and its community partners, Zaid secured an internship with global investment firm PIMCO; an experience he describes as “beyond amazing.” Determined to make the most of it, he connected with nearly everyone in the office, gaining invaluable insights, mentorship, and real-world knowledge about the finance industry. Working closely with his team, he developed critical skills in networking, communication, professionalism, time management, and financial analysis.

The summer wasn’t without challenges, Zaid faced housing instability and even harassment from a neighbor, but he showed up every day with resilience and perseverance. That determination, he says, transformed him both personally and professionally. The internship not only gave him a glimpse into how one of the world’s top investment firms operates, but also prepared him for success at York University.

Today, Zaid is enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science at York University. His dreams are no longer limited to surviving the next shelter stay, they now include returning to Yemen, rebuilding its network infrastructure, and empowering his homeland with the tools of technology.

“I want to help. I want to go back and be part of the solution.”

Carrying the Invisible Weight

But success has not erased the scars. Zaid still carries the invisible weight of displacement, of being a stranger in a world that didn’t wait for him.

“Every time I walked down the street, I saw families together, kids with new phones, people who had things. I didn’t even have people. The hardest part wasn’t poverty, it was the absence. The absence of safety, of support, of love. That’s what being a young refugee is.”

And yet, despite the crushing odds, Zaid found a way forward. Through a system that is often impersonal, a few caring people and programs lit the way. He hopes others never take that for granted.

“There’s such a thin line between going in a good direction and a bad one. You’re exposed to people who don’t always have good intentions. You’re just… vulnerable.”

What’s Next?

Today, Zaid continues to channel his creativity and resilience into new ventures. As co-founder of Brothers Studio, he transforms photography into more than just images, it’s storytelling through the lens. His studio is built on the belief that every moment carries meaning, and with a blend of technical expertise and artistic vision, he preserves those moments as timeless works of art. From intimate portraits to milestone celebrations, Zaid and his team approach each project with care, authenticity, and a commitment to quality that ensures memories last a lifetime.