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This article was published 20/4/2018 (887 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Prince Busime arrived in Canada as a refugee at age 15, he was so far behind in his education that success in school seemed impossible.

Two years later, instead of dropping out and giving up, he will be one of the first students enrolled at a new school this fall targeting older refugee kids at risk of losing out on an education.

Freedom International School is a big name and a big idea in a small space in Winnipeg’s inner city. The faith-based school is being set up by board members from South Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Canada. It targets newcomer students ages 13 to 21 whose reading and basic academic skills are at least two years behind their Canadian peers.

Too many older kids like Prince are falling through the cracks because they have so many challenges to overcome, say the school’s founding board members.

"It hurts when you see those kids," said board member Birkity Mekonnen, an Eritrean refugee who arrived in Canada in 2009. "My background is from Africa, too, and I know that if the kids don’t know English, they’re going to be lost." The teens who missed a lot of schooling — if they received any — struggle to catch up and fit in, she said.

"They feel lonely," said Mekonnen, a mother of two young children. "They don’t feel like they belong," she said. Their futures appear bleak.

"Some are in the streets and don’t have a good life," said Mekonnen. "We feel bad for them."

Rather than just feeling bad for the teens, they took action. "I want to help my community," she said.

They leased classroom space for the next three years at an inner-city building on Notre Dame Avenue that is being renovated by volunteers. They’ve lined up a core teaching staff who have committed to being there for the next three years without pay.

Mekonnen said she’s known the new school’s principal and teacher, Francine Wiebe, for many years and her experience with refugees and nurturing is just what the adolescents need. "She’s a mother."

The school, which isn’t eligible for provincial funding for the first three years, will charge $50 per month per student for tuition.

The first 20 students enrolled for this fall have been assessed at reading levels that range from five to nine years behind their Canadian peers, including Prince. He has been helping to renovate the building where he hopes to complete his Grade 12 and prepare for further education.

Prince was a toddler when he and his mom and younger brother fled the raging conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and made it to Durban, South Africa. There, like many other African refugees, they were not welcome. The forces of discrimination and xenophobia literally left a scar on the boy. In Grade 8, he was slashed on the right side of his face by a classmate who told him to go back where he came from. After that, Prince said he avoided going to school.

"I didn’t like it," he said. "I wasn’t feeling safe." His grades slipped and he started falling behind.

When he and his family arrived in Canada in 2016 as government-assisted refugees, they were filled with hope for the future.

"We wanted to go to school and we wanted to learn and to study to make our mom proud," said Prince. Wiebe, who was vice-principal at an inner-city Christian school at the time, met Prince’s family and had him assessed to see where he was at in his education.

"I was way, way low in reading," said Prince. "There was no way I could catch up with how low my reading was." It’s not for a lack of trying. "I try as hard as I can to be an average student." He’s hoping the attention he gets at Freedom International School will help him succeed at high school so he’s ready for college or university.

"I have a career goal," he said. "I have a passion for videography."

He wants to pursue an education and dreams of learning about film and making it to Hollywood one day. For now, he’s having fun making personalized videos on his handheld device for friends and family. "I need more confidence and to believe in myself."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca