Awer Kuir was only nine years old when he was separated from his parents during the civil war in Sudan and had to make his way on his own to the Kakuma refugee camp in northwest Kenya.

The three-day journey was dangerous, with fighting along the roads and trucks broken down in the middle of nowhere that left refugees without access to water. The young Kuir was lucky – his truck arrived safely and once at Kakuma he was reunited with his two brothers who had escaped the violence ahead of him.

Kuir quickly learned that the only way to make a life for himself outside of the camp was through the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) Student Refugee program. Inspired by his older brother who took part in the program, Kuir devoted his time to studying with the hope of earning a scholarship and attending university in Canada.

“When we were in the refugee camp, hope was the main thing. We were hoping that one day, if we did well, we could study in Canada,” says Kuir. “I think that without WUSC, we wouldn’t have that. We wouldn’t be hoping; we’d just be in despair.”

Former refugee graduates from University of Waterloo

Kuir’s determination paid off and he is graduating from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Science in Geophysics this June. “Having come out of the refugee camp and then to Waterloo, I just feel like everything is possible if you work hard.”

Growing up in the Kakuma refugee camp was difficult, says Kuir, because refugees could only leave the camp with permission from the United Nations (UN). “It was the nature of the camp that was really hard, because you had to just stay there. You don’t have any freedom. You can’t move around.”

Refugees also feared locals who raided Kakuma for food, water, and other supplies, wielding weapons and shooting freely. Kuir, who stayed inside with his brothers once darkness fell, recalls, “It was terrifying.”

Won a scholarship to attend a high school outside of refugee camp

Kuir attended a crowded, UN-sponsored school in Kakuma starting in Grade Five. While all children were provided with a free grade school education in the camp, Kuir considers himself very fortunate to be one of 30 refugee youth in the camp who earned scholarships to attend high school just outside of Kakuma.

Kuir soon learned about the WUSC Student Refugee program, which would allow him to resettle in Canada and attend university. His brother, who was sponsored by the program earlier, studied at the University of Guelph. Based on little other than his brother’s word that the University of Waterloo was a good school for science and engineering, Kuir became determined to earn a WUSC scholarship.

“The World University Services of Canada program is very unique,” says Kuir. “There’s not a lot of programs that offer settlement and education to refugee students. So it’s our only hope.”

Despite his keen interest in Waterloo, Kuir had no say in the matter. But once again, luck was on his side.

“When we applied, we were not given a chance to fill in the name of the schools. We didn’t even know schools around Canada, so we just applied,” Kuir recalls. “When I received my acceptance letter and it said ‘University of Waterloo,’ I was so, so excited.”

Acceptance to Waterloo, in particular, made Kuir’s transition to life in Canada easier. Kuir relied on the support of his brother nearby to adjust to the “totally different” weather and food and the challenge of being so far away from his family, just as he did when he arrived at Kakuma.

“During breaks I used to go to my brother’s place in Guelph and stay there. It wasn’t far, so I was lucky,” says Kuir. “If I had been in Vancouver or some other part of Canada, it would have been really hard.”

He has not seen his father since he fled Sudan

Although he was able to visit his mother shortly before moving to Canada, Kuir still has not seen his father since the day he fled his village for the refugee camp. In the future, he hopes to return to Sudan and his parents, but mainly to use what he has learned at Waterloo to provide young students with the same opportunities he had.

“I’d like to go back there, especially for education because it enlightens you so that you have a better understanding of the world,” says Kuir. “Education is not just to get a job, but to change your worldview and think critically about what you’re going to do in your life.”

Support WUSC-sponsored refugees at the University of Waterloo

In the form of a $1 fee every term, University of Waterloo undergraduate students have been sponsoring refugee students through WUSC for the past ten years. Kuir is one of eleven Waterloo students to benefit from the program so far, with the University hoping to welcome two new refugee students in August – one from Syria and one from an African country.