With a dedicated app, Chevening alumna Heela Yoon is helping refugees and other young people who have experienced trauma to rebuild their lives.
When Heela Yoon was awarded a Chevening Scholarship in 2020, she saw it as an opportunity not just to further her education but to help people affected by conflict and displacement.
As a first-generation refugee from Afghanistan, Heela has long been committed to using activism and storytelling to drive systems-level change. But studying in the UK with Chevening helped her to increase her impact and reach more people.
‘Chevening gave me the skills and visibility to launch projects that support thousands of people, and it continues to connect me with leaders and changemakers across the world.’
Read on to find out more.
‘Across the world, millions of young people in conflict and displaced communities are living with untreated trauma,’ Heela explains. ‘Research shows that more than 70% of refugees experience psychological distress, but less than 10% ever receive support… That leaves a huge gap.’
‘I know this first-hand. While working and leading projects, I was diagnosed with CPTSD and I didn’t understand how deeply it was linked to my experiences,’ she shares. ‘If I, with access to education and networks, struggled to recognise or address it, the barrier for a young refugee with no resources is even greater. Many don’t even know what help looks like, or how to ask for it.’
This gap is what led Heela to create MUSKA, a trauma-informed mobile app that combines mental health and sexual and reproductive health support with practical tools to help people rebuild their lives.
‘Most digital mental health tools are built for high-income countries, requiring stable internet, high literacy levels, or cultural familiarity that people in fragile contexts don’t have,’ she says.
That’s why MUSKA is available offline, uses a low level of data, and is accessible in Persian, Pashto, and English.
‘It connects mental health and sexual and reproductive health support with practical skills for business and tech,’ she explains. ‘Because healing alone is not enough… people also need tools to integrate and rebuild.’
With MUSKA, Heela aims to bring together policy, research, and AI-driven technology to create solutions that can be scaled across countries, particularly those facing rising levels of displacement due to climate disasters.
Studying in the UK with Chevening helped make this vision a reality.
‘Chevening opened the door for me to education, leadership opportunities, and global platforms that I would not have accessed otherwise,’ she reflects. ‘Coming to the UK through such a competitive scholarship gave me not just a degree, but the confidence and network to take my work further.’
I was the first girl in my family and generation to study abroad, and that in itself has created a ripple effect showing other young women in my community that it’s possible.
Looking ahead, Heela’s determined to help more people.
‘My plans are always evolving with the realities around me, but the direction is clear. I want to keep building at the intersection of technology, mental health, and accessibility, making sure that young people and refugees in fragile contexts are not left behind.’
‘Scaling MUSKA is a key priority; expanding to more languages, integrating AI for personalised support, and linking wellbeing with skills for entrepreneurship and climate resilience.’
I plan to continue engaging at a global leadership level, shaping policy debates, speaking in international forums, and connecting communities from Afghanistan to the UK and beyond. And personally, I want to keep mentoring and supporting young leaders, especially women, who are trying to find their own way in difficult circumstances.
Wherever you are in the world, you’ll find inspiring Chevening alumni like Heela making a positive impact.
Irma Matoshvili describes herself as ‘a people person.’ Growing up in rural Georgia, she learned that ‘hospitality is valued more than bravery, this is how we were raised.’ That belief in people shaped her ambitions to study in the UK, not only to strengthen her own career in business management, but to help other women to succeed too.
The Chevening Alumni Programme Fund (CAPF) supports Chevening alumni to tackle challenges that matter to their home country and align with UK global priorities. In Bolivia, a team of alumni came together to shift attitudes towards jaguar conservation. Read on to find out more!
After completing her master’s at the University of Nottingham, Chevening alumna Anne Lugon-Moulin went on to have an extraordinary career that led her to become the Swiss ambassador to Serbia.