REFUGEE SPONSORSHIP UPDATE:
DORSHEI EMET TO SPONSOR A REFUGEE STUDENT AT CONCORDIA
Dorshei Emet will sponsor a student refugee for one year of study at Concordia University beginning in August. His name is Nur, he will turn 24 just about the time he arrives in Montreal, and he’s originally from Somalia. Why a student and why someone from Somalia? Here’s the background.
Almost four years ago, when the refugee situation reached crisis proportions, we launched the Syrian Refugee Sponsorship Program and raised sufficient funds to sponsor four Syrian refugee families. Three families arrived in 2017 and are doing well; the fourth family opted not to wait and took the opportunity to go to the States. We applied to sponsor another family just as the rules were changing and the doors closing to private sponsorship, but last year, that family was rejected by Immigration Canada. We explored appealing the ruling but learned that we had little chance of
winning.
Today, private sponsorship of refugees is on hold in Quebec, and there is no indication that will change any time soon. Also, Syrian refugees are no longer given priority to immigrate here. So, at the end of 2018, we were at a standstill – money in the bank, a mandate to bring refugees to Canada, but no way to do it. Then, one of our committee members contacted the World University Service of Canada (WUSC), a non-profit organization with more than 55 years of experience working with students. Its Student Refugee Program is the only one of its kind, combining both resettlement and higher education. This year, WUSC will bring 130 students - originally from Iraq, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi - to Canada.
Dorshei Emet’s participation is especially important this year because it will help Concordia establish a permanent student refugee program, and we will work closely with Concordia’s student committee, which has primary responsibility for Nur’s well-being. As for Nur, he completed secondary school in 2012 in Mogadishu. His grades were excellent, and he was awarded a scholarship to study in Jordan, where he has been studying Nutrition and Food Technology at Jordan University of Science and Technology. He is interested in becoming a public health officer to help Africa deal with the problems of famine, environmental health, infant mortality and nutrition. We look forward to welcoming him to Montreal and will keep you informed about what you can do to help.
watch this video to learn more about the Student Sponsorship Program.
