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Helping
refugee students study in Canada:
WUSC group active at Trent University
The World University Service of Canada (WUSC) has a mandate that embraces the whole world. Looking beyond the borders of Canada and its post-secondary institutions, one of the primary WUSC objectives is to provide opportunities for students in other countries to study at the university level.
One way WUSC attempts to address this issue is through its refugee sponsorship program, and each year the organization sponsors approximately 40 international refugee students to study in Canada. The aim is that these students will attain their degrees and, if they wish, remain in Canada as landed immigrants.
Over the past 20 years more than 600 student refugees have been sponsored by over 70 WUSC Local Committees at universities and colleges across the nation. Through this program, WUSC works towards its objective of "promoting human development and global understanding through education and training." By assisting people whose education has been interrupted by war and/or persecution, WUSC’s sponsorship program also contributes to greater understanding among Canadian students, faculty and staff about the situation of refugees in the world.
Trent University is very involved in this project, and its WUSC Local Committee is currently in the process of selecting a refugee student to come to Trent next year.
"The sponsorship program is one of the major things that the Trent WUSC local committee does," says member and master’s student Caroline Archambault. "Local committees are generally made up of students, but there are also some faculty and staff members, as well as members of the community. Basically, it is made up of people interested in international development and intercultural issues."
The group also organizes events on campus, such as the evening seminar held on November 28 to explore current issues in the African country of Sudan.
For more information about the WUSC Local Committee at Trent, or to become involved, please contact Caroline Archambault at carchamb@trentu.ca.
Posted December 12, 2002
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