Student Refugee Program

Every August, for the last four decades, WUSC community members have gathered at airports across the country. Together, with banners and smiles, they welcome newly arriving SRP students.  This year, 123 students arrived to start their new lives in Canada, where they will be empowered to continue their post-secondary studies in safe and supportive environments.…

Welcoming former refugees at airports across the country each August marks a significant milestone for our Student Refugee Program. Each student that arrives to begin their post-secondary education journey in Canada reflects the culmination of months of hard work among our Local Committee network and school administrations, and the generosity of our donors to create more…

Commissioned as a background paper for the development of the 2019 Global Education Monitoring Report, Migration, displacement and education: Building bridges, not walls report, the paper Higher Education for Refugees written by Martha K. Ferede in 2018, provides a critical global overview of refugee access and participation in higher education.  Higher Education for Refugees outlines the barriers refugees face at…

Congratulations to the winners of the 2018 Local Committee of the Year Award, York-Keele Local Committee! Announced annually at the WUSC and CECI International Forum, the Local Committee of the Year Award is awarded by the Board of Directors to recognize the recent contribution of a group of students to international development and the Student…

  Last week, former WUSC McGill Co-Chair and McGill University alumnus Amelie Fabian shared her inspiring story at the UN High-Level Meeting on Action for Refugee Education. She provided a firsthand account of the importance of education for young refugees, herself a former refugee from Rwanda, speaking to representatives of organizations, foundations, and institutions who gathered…

  Every year, young students from WUSC Local Committees at post-secondary institutions across Canada gather in Ottawa-Gatineau to learn how they can better support refugee integration, raise awareness on issues of forced migration, and run successful Local Committees. This year, we were thrilled to have our biggest turnout yet with almost 100 student participants representing…

TORONTO, September 4, 2018 — 129 refugee youth will be starting their first week of school across Canada this week as part of the World University Service of Canada’s Student Refugee Program. Their arrival marks the 40th anniversary of youth-to-youth sponsorship in Canada through the program. The Student Refugee Program is the only program of…

On this year’s World Refugee Day, join us in celebrating the achievements of our most recent Student Refugee Program (SRP) graduates. Over the past four years, 437 refugee youth were welcomed onto Canadian campuses through the SRP. Because of your support, many of these students are now graduating and taking the next steps on their…

By Catherine Traer and Gisèle Nyembwe | This story was originally published by UNHCR Canada. Read the original here. [article in French only] LEVIS, Canada – Catherine Dufort, a humanities and languages student at Cégep de Lévis-Lauzon, did not let herself be intimidated by the daunting task of convincing the entire school’s administration to sponsor a refugee to come…

Thanks to the Student Refugee Program (SRP), Amelie Fabian will be able to create the life she wants for herself. By Fatima Muneer, UNHCR Canada | This story was originally published by UNHCR Canada. Read the original here. “There’s no need for girls to just get a degree and then get married. We’re in a position…