Education

COVID-19 has become an unprecedented global crisis. The pandemic and its associated economic crisis have exposed deep structural inequalities around the world, with disproportionate effects on women and girls. This webinar, organized by Women’s Empowerment in Development (WED) Lab at McGill in partnership with the Institute for the Study of International Development, explores current issues around COVID-19…

The COVID-19 pandemic confirmed what we already knew – girls’ education is most at risk during emergency and crisis situations. Many girls, particularly those in refugee camps and their surrounding host communities, may never return to school. That’s why we quickly adapted our conditional cash transfers (CTs) approach and our radio programming in Kenya to keep girls’…

How successful referendums across Canadian campuses are creating opportunities for young refugees to access post-secondary education

In response to COVID-19, the Government of Kenya, much like other governments around the world, initiated lockdowns of businesses and schools and implemented curfews to help curb transmission. Despite these measures, in just a few weeks, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kenya almost doubled, bringing the total at the time of writing to…

All of Gabriel Ndayishimiye’s hard work over the past few years has recently paid off. This summer, he graduates with a B.A. Honours degree in globalization studies from Huron University in London, Ontario. Originally from Rwanda, Gabriel came to Canada in 2016 through the Student Refugee Program. He will be attending Columbia University in September…

Risk to Girls’ education and safety during COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about widespread lockdowns and school closures around the world, including in Kenya, where more than 2,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed.  In a country where 1.2 million primary-school-age children were already out of school before the crisis hit, these closures have…

In November 2019, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and WUSC (World University Service of Canada) brought together stakeholders with an identified interest or active engagement in developing education opportunities for refugees as complementary pathways for admission in third countries. The two-day international conference…

The story of Sondas Bashiri Each day, Sondas Bashiri looks forward to attending the Vocational Training Corporation (VTC) in her hometown of Irbid, Jordan. Here, she is enrolled in the Medical Office Assistant (MOA) program. Upon graduating from the program, she wants to work in medical administration. Prior to enrolling in this program, Sondas worked…

In 2019, the Inter-Agency Network on Education in Emergencies (INEE) released a new Gender Guidance Note, a document designed to equip policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and civil society organisations with the knowledge and tools to deliver education that is relevant to the needs of girls and boys. This Guidance Note is tailored to people working in…

WUSC’s Student Refugee Program (SRP) transforms the lives of many — especially formerly sponsored students. After their studies, formerly sponsored students (or SRP alumni as they are known) have gone on to do many diverse things in Canada and globally. These range from ordinary — working and supporting a family — to extraordinary — playing…