WORLD UNIVERSITY SERVICE OF CANADA

STUDENT REFUGEE PROGRAMPROVIDING REFUGEES WITH THE SKILLS TO REBUILD THEIR LIVES

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PROVIDING REFUGEES WITH THE SKILLS TO REBUILD THEIR LIVES

You step off the plane, your feet touching the ground of a country

you’ve never seen until now. Despite all the orientations, language

exams, and brochures, you still feel unprepared, uncertain. As you

look around to get your bearings, you spot your name painted on

signs held up by a crowd of excited Canadian students.

After spending 19 years confined in a Kenyan refugee camp with

over 300,000 people, a new chapter of your life begins. These

students, members of a WUSC Local Committee, have enabled

you to come to Canada to study. They will accompany you back

to campus and share with you the intricacies of supermarkets, the

hazards and hilarity of snow, and what to do with a computer.

Many will become your peers and best friends, ready to face daily

challenges and leaping into rewarding adventures—together.

This scenario plays out annually as WUSC student volunteers on campuses across Canada greet young refugee students. These volunteers have spent up to two years raising funds and preparing for their arrival.

Read on to discover how you can support and take part in this important and unique program that’s changing the world one life at a time.

THE STUDENT REFUGEE PROGRAM (SRP)

• established in 1978

• the only youth-to-youth sponsorship program in the

world that combines refugee

resettlement with higher

education

• enabled over 1200 refugees to enroll in Canadian

colleges and universities

• taps into the spirit of volunteerism to provide

post-secondary education

opportunities for bright

young student refugees

A 2010 WISE AWARDS FINALIST:

SHORTLISTED FOR THE TOP 10:

A world-renowned program, helping refugee students and their communities

This document was printed using 100% recycled paper

Cover Photo: Thon Simon Kuany Mineral Engineer, Former Sponsored Student

Photo courtesy of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited

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BRINGING HOPE TO REFUGEE CAMPS AND REFUGEES TO CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES

The Student Refugee Program brings hope and self-empowerment through the transformational effect of education. Whether through war or political repression, young women and men are often forced to flee their home country, only to face the harsh conditions of life in a refugee camp. Opportunities for higher education are virtually non-existent, leaving many bright and talented students unable to achieve their academic or professional goals.

A Child’s Dream of EducationIn Kenya - inside camps like Kakuma (population 80,000) and Dadaab, one of the largest refugee camps in the world (population 500,000) - young people begin to prepare for the SRP as early as junior high school, studying intensely in the hopes of being admitted into the SRP. Hundreds of students apply in their last year of high school and on average 60 are selected annually. Following their selection, another full year is needed for intensive language training, academic preparation, and the immigration screening process before sponsored students start their long journey to their new home. In Canada, they are supported by their student peers who help them adapt and succeed in school and life.

WUSC opens a door for these young, bright individuals to create a better life for themselves, their families, and their communities.

COMPLETING THEIR POST-SECONDARY PROGRAM

• 85% of sponsored students find work in their

chosen fields, including

engineering, law, education

and social services.

• As a result of the opportunity

presented by the SRP,

overseas partners reported a sense of hope in the camps, with decreasing school

dropout rates and positive

life decisions.

Source: “Fostering Tomorrow’s Global Leaders: An Evaluation of the WUSC Student Refugee Program” (2007). Alfred Orono Orono

Lawyer, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Former Sponsored Student“My experiences as a child soldier could have destroyed me, but instead fuelled a passion for

championing human rights. In 1993, I finally escaped my captors and spent two years in various refugee

camps, until I received the news that a group of young students at the University of Alberta were giving me

a chance to pursue my post-secondary education through WUSC’s Student Refugee Program. At a time

where I felt powerless, I was given a chance for a better future for myself, my family and my community.

I had the drive to survive the horrors that I had seen and lived as a child and teenager, and finally I had

an opportunity to change the outcome of my life.”

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YOUR SUPPORT CHANGES LIVES

Canadian student volunteers raise and/or leverage 87% of the funds needed to operate the program. Additional funds are needed to help prepare the refugee students in the camps and get them to the campuses. YOUR DONATION CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

THE STUDENT REFUGEE PROGRAM A TWO-STEP PROCESS

STEP 1:

FROM REFUGEE CAMP

TO CANADIAN CAMPUS

STEP 2:

SUPPORTING THE SPONSORED

STUDENT ON CAMPUS

KEY

ACTORS

WUSC and overseas partners

(eg. Windle Trust Kenya, Jesuit

Refugee Services, UNHCR,

Goverment of Canada)

Student volunteers

(Local Committees and WUSC

Ottawa)

KEY

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide expertise on immigration

processes

• Develop and fosters partnerships

• Select and prepares refugee

students for their arrival in Canada

• Raise awareness

• Fundraise to cover a minimum

of 12 months of education

& living expenses

• Welcome and provides ongoing

social support

FUNDING

SOURCES

Grants, the SRP Contribution Fund,

individual donors, and WUSC

Annual levies and waivers from

the institution, local fundraising

intitiatives, and individual donors

Supporting the Sponsored Student in CanadaEducation and living expenses include: Tuition•Residence/housing•Food•Booksandschoolsupplies•Travelloanrepayment•Transportation•Clothing•Personalexpenses•Livingexpenses

From Refugee Camp to Canadian CampusIn-Canada volunteer support includes: Coordinationofplacementsandimmigration•Training

workshopsforstudentvolunteers•Materialtoraiseawareness•Ongoingguidancetovolunteers•Program

monitoring,evaluationandreporting•Monitoringofsponsorshipsandstudents

Overseas preparations for refugee resettlement include*: Teachers•Languagetests•Languagetrainingmaterial•Partnertraining•Application,interviewandselectionprocess

*These activities may differ in each refugee camp

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The sponsored student regains a vital lifeline to a positive future — an opportunity to pursue his or her post-secondary education in safety.

Canadian student volunteers are exposed to a different culture, learn about the history and political situation in another part of the world, and have the opportunity to become leaders who are effecting change.

The university or college campus benefit from a shared cross-cultural experience that stimulates mentorship & community involvement, and a broader perspective is brought to the classroom

Displaced refugee students remaining in camps are offered a beacon of hope for a better future, sending the message that education is important.

Local communities welcome the sponsored students and gain a valuable and contributing member of Canadian society.

The world discovers a durable solution for refugee settlement, promoting peace and peace-building in countries of origin.

You have an opportunity to make a difference.

For more information, contactLynneLeBlancat lynnel@wusc.ca or 613.761.3684.

THE PROMISE OF A NEW GENERATION

• Volunteers develop commitment and confidence in civic

engagement and community

leadership.

• 64% of volunteers

continue to be active

on global issues

because of their

experiences with WUSC.

• 81% of past volunteers

vote in federal elections. Source: “Fostering Tomorrow’s Global Leaders: An Evaluation of the WUSC Student Refugee Program” (2007).

SUSAN BISSELLChief of Child Protection, UNICEF “During my days at Trinity College I met a young man from Sudan, the first student ever sponsored

at that school through the Student Refugee Program. Listening to his story, I discovered my inherent

passion for humanitarianism. Our discussions inspired me and my life’s work.”

BE PART OF A PROGRAM THAT’S MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Every time a sponsored student arrives on a Canadian campus, who benefits?

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VICKY SAMUELNurse, North Bay General Hospital, Former Sponsored Student In 1994, nine-year old Vicky Samuel and her family escaped the Rwandan genocides. While living in

refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo and then Tanzania, Vicky and her sisters were often

denied schooling because they were not citizens. Vicky’s family sought asylum in Malawi, where they

stayed at the Dzaleka Refugee Camp. With the help of the Jesuit Refugee Service and the United Nations

High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), she was able to obtain secondary education and apply for

the Student Refugee Program (SRP). She attended Nipissing University in 2004 andreceivedaBachelorof

ScienceinNursing.Inadditiontoworkingfulltime,VickyalsotakespartinBigBrothersandBigSistersof

Canada as a mentor.

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WORLD UNIVERSITY SERVICE OF CANADA 1404 SCOTT | OTTAWA, ON | K1Y 4M8 613.798.7477 | 1.800.267.8699 www.wusc.ca | wusc@wusc.ca

CHARITABLE REGISTRATION NUMBER: 11960 4848 RR0011

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