November 13, 2015 - Two young Syrian refugees will be sponsored to study at Laurentian University next year as part of an initiative led by students under the World University Service of Canada aegis (EUMC).
Under the Student Refugee Program, WUSC Local Committee at Laurentian University has sponsored more than twenty refugees since the launch of the initiative in 1978. Some stayed to do graduate studies. Due to the worsening war in Syria and the international refugee crisis, EUMC expanded the scope of its Student Refugee Program and now works in refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon, in cooperation with the High UN High Commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) to interview candidates and document their sponsorship.
"We are pleased to increase our efforts to sponsor two Syrian refugees who will study at Laurentian, said Semeniuk-Willow Mullin, a member of WUSC-Laurentian committee. Like many others in Canada and around the world, we want to help by giving young Syrians the chance to have a secure future. "
Laurentian University supports the EUMC and the Student Refugee Program by offering tuition, housing and meals for the first year of study. The student population Laurentian also make a financial contribution from a charge levied on contributions to student associations. After the first year, sponsored students can apply for financial assistance Assistance Program to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). The WUSC committee at Laurentian intends to conduct fundraising activities on the campus and in the Greater Sudbury community to help defray the high costs of establishment of the students sponsored by the program WUSC.
Information on how groups and individuals can contribute to the local campaign EUMC will be announced in the coming weeks.
"It's a great program and a great initiative to bring Canadian students living in refugee camps to a PSE, said Professor Jorge Virchez the Department of Geography and faculty representative to the committee EUMC at Laurentian. Our students have shown a great commitment to the global response through WUSC and are proud of their decision to redouble efforts in the coming year. "