STUDENT REFUGEE PROGRAM

Transcription

1 WORLD UNIVERSITY SERVICE OF CANADA STUDENT REFUGEE PROGRAM PROVIDING REFUGEES WITH THE SKILLS TO REBUILD THEIR LIVES SRPcaseForSupportEng_07.indd 1 3/30/2012 2:23:24 PM

2 PROVIDING REFUGEES WITH THE SKILLS TO REBUILD THEIR LIVES THE STUDENT REFUGEE PROGRAM (SRP) You step off the plane, your feet touching the ground of a country established in 1978 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 the only youth-to-youth sponsorship program in the world that combines refugee resettlement with higher signs held up by a crowd of excited Canadian students. education After spending 19 years confined in a Kenyan refugee camp with over 300,000 people, a new chapter of your life begins. These enabled over 1200 refugees to enroll in Canadian colleges and universities students, members of a WUSC Local Committee, have enabled you to come to Canada to study. They will accompany you back taps into the spirit of volunteerism to provide to campus and share with you the intricacies of supermarkets, the post-secondary education hazards and hilarity of snow, and what to do with a computer. Many will become your peers and best friends, ready to face daily opportunities for bright young student refugees 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. A world-renowned program, helping refugee students and their communities A 2010 WISE AWARDS FINALIST: 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 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. SHORTLISTED FOR THE TOP 10: SRPcaseForSupportEng_07.indd 2-3 3/30/2012 2:23:24 PM

3 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). 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 Education In 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. 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. SRPcaseForSupportEng_07.indd 4-5 3/30/2012 2:23:25 PM

4 THE STUDENT REFUGEE PROGRAM A TWO-STEP PROCESS KEY ACTORS STEP 1: FROM REFUGEE CAMP TO CANADIAN CAMPUS WUSC and overseas partners (eg. Windle Trust Kenya, Jesuit Refugee Services, UNHCR, Goverment of Canada) STEP 2: SUPPORTING THE SPONSORED STUDENT ON CAMPUS Student volunteers (Local Committees and WUSC Ottawa) 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. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Provide expertise on immigration processes Raise awareness Fundraise to cover a minimum Develop and fosters partnerships of 12 months of education Select and prepares refugee & living expenses students for their arrival in Canada Welcome and provides ongoing FUNDING SOURCES Grants, the SRP Contribution Fund, individual donors, and WUSC social support Annual levies and waivers from the institution, local fundraising Supporting the Sponsored Student in Canada Education and living expenses include: Tuition Residence/housing Food Books and school supplies Travel loan repayment Transportation Clothing Personal expenses Living expenses intitiatives, and individual donors From Refugee Camp to Canadian Campus In-Canada volunteer support includes: Coordination of placements and immigration Training workshops for student volunteers Material to raise awareness Ongoing guidance to volunteers Program monitoring, evaluation and reporting Monitoring of sponsorships and students Overseas preparations for refugee resettlement include*: Teachers Language tests Language training material Partner training Application, interview and selection process *These activities may differ in each refugee camp SRPcaseForSupportEng_07.indd 6-7 3/30/2012 2:23:25 PM

5 SUSAN BISSELL Chief 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? 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 peacebuilding in countries of origin. You have an opportunity to make a difference. For more information, contact Lynne LeBlanc at lynnel@wusc.ca or 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). SRPcaseForSupportEng_07.indd 8-9 3/30/2012 2:23:25 PM

6 VICKY SAMUEL Nurse, 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 and received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. In addition to working full time, Vicky also takes part in Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Canada as a mentor. SRPcaseForSupportEng_07.indd /30/2012 2:23:27 PM

7 WORLD UNIVERSITY SERVICE OF CANADA 1404 SCOTT OTTAWA, ON K1Y 4M CHARITABLE REGISTRATION NUMBER: RR0011 SRPcaseForSupportEng_07.indd 12 3/30/2012 2:23:29 PM