“When you arrive in Rwanda, and you really
love your people, and would like to contribute
to the future … you decide to stay,”
writes former refugee student Innocent Kabenga
four months after returning to his native country
for the first time since fleeing shortly after
his birth.
For Sudanese student Tong Abenego Akok, being
in Canada means “I am now a citizen of my
country of origin and my country of asylum.
“I have respect for everyone’s ideas
and equality. I want to give something back,”
he says with determination as we discuss his first
year in Niagara as a refugee student sponsored
by the World University Service of Canada’s
(WUSC) Student Refugee Program.
Having just returned from the annual conference
of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners,
I was eager to learn more about a charitable initiative
that did not depend on sponsorship “deals,”
clever accounting, or willful blindness to achieve
its intended result.
In the late 1990s, Akok, a native of Sudan and
member of the d’Inka Atote tribe, had finished
his secondary education and wanted to continue
his studies at university. However, the prerequisite
was compulsory military service, which had become
a one-way ticket to the front lines of the war
torn country for many of his friends. His Christian
instincts and responsibility to family forced
him, like Kabenga many years previously, to abandon
his home for a refugee camp in Kenya.
Without a financial sponsor Akok could not continue
his schooling. WUSC was his only hope. But even
though he qualified through language and skill
testing for a placement, there were not enough
openings. He waited another year.
When I asked how he reacted to WUSC’s suggestion
of enrolling in a Canadian university, his thoughtful
face burst into a toothy grin “Yes! But of
course I will go,” he said.
The neophyte flyer’s two-day journey began
last August in Jomo Kenyatta Airport then he was
routed through Johannesburg, Paris, Montréal,
finally ending in Toronto. “I was so tired,
but then I saw my name on a sign held by Susan
Spearey, (chair of the Brock WUSC committee).
She drove me to my new home and helped get me
settled.”
Spearey’s involvement as a volunteer is
a labour of love. “His baggage was missing,
immigration was slow; he looked shell-shocked
but poised,” she recalled. “He gamely
tried everything the cafeteria had to offer, but
more in search of something familiar than from
hunger.”
“It’s important to have people from different
cultures in our population,” says Dr. David
Atkinson, president of Brock University. “We
learn from each other even as tolerance and understanding
increase.”
For 15 years, the students, faculty and administration
of Brock University have raised funds and donated
services to ensure that the WUSC-selected refugee
gets a good start both educationally and culturally.
Nearly $11,000 is required to provide tuition,
accommodation, food, clothes and a small living
allowance.
Atkinson feels it’s a good investment. “The
longstanding participation by Brock and many of
its faculty in international research initiatives
has ensured that this program, which must compete
with a growing list of other projects looking
for support, remains a priority.”
The refugee program at participating universities
is a needed balance to the very competitive pursuit
of other international students who have the means
to pay the exponentially higher tuition fees than
those charged to Canadians.
After the first year, the refugees must fund
themselves. Part time jobs and student loans fill
the financial requirements, but support continues
in other ways. Friendships evolve, compatriots
found, and members of the local community—particularly
during the holiday periods—open their homes
and their hearts to these lonely students who
will repay this kindness and unequivocal acceptance
many times over in the years ahead.
The events of Sept. 11 caused an unsettling and
difficult time for many immigrants and refugees.
Atkinson was pleased to report that there have
been no related incidents or backlash on campus.
Kabenga, settling in to his new job as an assistant
lecturer at the University of Butare, offered
to return Brock’s generosity: “If bin
Laden continues his threats against North America,
I will sponsor you as landed immigrants in Rwanda,”
he wrote.
Akok is also grateful. “I can’t thank
you enough for this opportunity, which has made
my family so proud,” he says. “I only
wish that more students could have a chance to
participate.”
The local WUSC committee agrees. Faculty and
staff are being asked to contribute and a student
referendum will be held in the fall to endorse
a levy.
Unlike the American Red Cross, which required
litigation to force it to distribute some of the
funds donated for disaster relief, at Brock it
can be seen first-hand that charity does begin
at home.
January 2003 - Update:
The students of Brock University have overwhelmingly
approved an ancillary fee for the Student Refugee
Sponsorship Program. 81% voted in favour of the
referendum question during polling in December.
The seemingly small levy of $0.20 per half credit
and $0.40 per full credit will produce $15,000-20,000 annually—enough to fund another
refugee student in association with the World
University Service of Canada’s sponsorship
program.
“Extensive promotion by the Brock Students’
Union of the need for this funding made the difference
this time,” said committee member Warren
Franklin. “Last year’s referendum failed
when we didn’t reach quorum, but [this time] Rachel Cipryk
(also on the WUSC student committee) used her
extraordinary organizational skills and got the
vote out.”
Twenty-three hundred voted, more than double
the requirement.
Contributions have also been made by the University,
faculty and staff members, and from ongoing
fund-raising events. JWR