According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ most recent report, the number of people forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution has now surpassed 100 million for the first time on record. Of that number, over 26 million are refugees – people who have crossed international borders to find safety -- another tragic milestone.
Millions of lives derailed, countless dreams and aspirations shattered. But not all hope is lost.
On May 30,  crossed the stage on McGill’s lower campus to collect his BA in Computer Science and Economics during Spring Convocation, just five years removed from the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, where he had spent more than half his life. A native of South Sudan, Jok fled his war-torn homeland when he was nine years old.
Jok is the most recent success story of the WUSC McGill Student Refugee Program. Since its establishment in 1986, WUSC McGill – a branch of (WUSC) – has sponsored over 60 student refugees to resettle in Canada and pursue their education at McGill. Currently, 15 WUSC scholars are pursuing their studies at McGill. WUSC McGill is in full preparation to welcome eight new scholars this fall, including, for the first time, two Afghan scholars. This is WUSC McGill’s largest cohort to date.
Read the full article on The Reporter website (English-only)