Mazkouri-Khoshkhesal Endowment Fund

The Mazkouri-Khoshkhesal Endowment fund is in to honor and memorialize the sacrifices Mr. and Mrs. Khoshkhesal made for the education of not only their own future generations but also the education of children in need worldwide.Their story is a story of love, service, resilience, faith, and sacrifice. Mr. Arastoo Khoshkhesal (1937 – 2020) and Mrs. Nahid Mazkouri Khoshkhesal (1942 – 2021) were both born in Yazd, Iran and were both accepted to attend universities in Europe – Arastoo to university in Germany and Nahid to University of Cambridge – to study medicine. Due to unforeseen circumstances, neither one was able to pursue their hearts desire of achieving higher level education until later in life. Instead, their paths crossed, and they married. They promised each other that no matter the challenges in their life, they would provide exceptional educational opportunities for their children.

Later, based solely on faith and their love for their children, they closed the doors to their home and businesses in Tehran, Iran in 1977 and pioneered to North Vancouver, Canada to form the first Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of North Vancouver District, and to provide educational opportunities for their two daughters and one son only to have all their assets confiscated by the Iranian government one year later because they were Baha’is. All their lives, they fervently hoped that the sacrifices they made would result in providing educational opportunities not only for their children and their grandchildren, but for all children in need everywhere. The Mazkouri Khoshkhesal Endowment fund honors and memorialize their sacrifices and their noble intent.