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Nipissing U International Food Fest helping refugees follow dreams

Emmanuel Wizeyimana, a first-year business student at Nipissing University, is a benefactor of World University Service of Canada's Student Refugee Sponsorship Program.

Emmanuel Wizeyimana, a first-year business student at Nipissing University, is a benefactor of World University Service of Canada's Student Refugee Sponsorship Program. The school hosted their annual International Food Fest at the Wall on Saturday, with all proceeds going towards the program. PHOTO BY LIAM BERTI

When Emmanuel Wizeyimana was forced to flee his home in Rwanda, he didn’t give his long-term education dreams much of a thought.

Living on a refugee camp in Malawi, he could follow primary and secondary school studies, but the thought of postsecondary education was a farfetched pipedream.

That is, until the World University Service of Canada’s (WUSC) Student Refugee Sponsorship Program made that dream a reality.

Now in his second semester at Nipissing University, the 22-year-old is in pursuit of a business degree and says he is hungry and excited for every opportunity that he works towards.

Wizeyimana got to witness first-hand how WUSC supports students like him at Nipissing University’s 2015 International Food Festival at the Wall on Saturday afternoon, the school’s single-biggest fundraising event for the program.

“Life was not easy for me; I could not afford to pay for my education and I could not even afford to pay my way to Canada,” Wizeyimana explained. “But because of this support, I have managed to come here, they are giving me everything I need, supporting me with education, and everything is just really good.”

Typically garnering close to $3,000 for the Refugee Sponsorship Program, the Food Festival showcases worldwide cuisine and celebrates diversity, multiculturalism and civic engagement.

For just $10, guests were able to indulge in a smorgasbord of international culinary creations from around the world, including dishes from Cecil’s Eatery and Beer Society, gd2go, Ivans Restaurant, the Raven Republic and other local volunteers.

Thirty-six different dishes were available in all, like Morrocan Tajine, Semovita and Egusi from Nigeria, spicy Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Fried Plantains from Ghanna, savory Indian Biryani, Greek Spanakopita, and Australian Pavlova.

The event is organized by the school’s International Student Support Services and Program Office, which governs the local WUSC committee and Student Refugee Program.

Wizeyimana is just the fourth Nipissing student to benefit from WUSC, with two of the previous graduates having gone on to complete their Masters and start their families in Canada and the other in the fourth and final year of the nursing program.

“I couldn’t stop doing this because I get so much satisfaction watching them grow,” said Jesse Fortier, the school’s education abroad coordinator. “One day they are in a refugee camp, then suddenly they are here in Canada getting an education and changing their lives.

“Without this program, which is the only program of its kind, they would never be able to get these opportunities,” she added. “To see them succeed and to see what the program does for them is the most rewarding thing in the world.”

Fortier has been running the Food Fest for four years now and said her and her team of volunteer students put anywhere between four and six months towards the effort.

Nipissing Students also pay a $2.50 levy on their tuition in support of the program.

WUSC’s refugee program has been helping foreign students transition to permanent residents of Canada for over 35 years now. They work with the overseas camps and the refugees then apply to be considered for the program.

From there, Nipissing, and other schools across the country, submits a letter of intent when they are ready to sponsor a new student and the school’s WUSC committee works towards matching up with a suitable student. 

Fortier says her team helps with the incoming student’s transition by picking them up at the airport, taking them grocery shopping, moving them in to residence, and helping them obtain their health cards and social insurance numbers, among other things.

They also meet with Wizeyimana for weekly updates and maintain a support network to help him with everyday aspects like managing his living expenses. 

“When I’m studying, I make sure to work really hard so that they can see that they are doing a great job for me,” Wizeyimana said of the local WUSC team.

“They should see what they are doing for me and that I am appreciating that," he continued. "I want to make them happy at the end and I should use this opportunity for my future.”


Liam Berti

About the Author: Liam Berti

Liam Berti is a University of Ottawa journalism graduate who has since worked for BayToday as the City Council and North Bay Battalion reporter.
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