WUSC is a Canadian network of individuals and post-secondary institutions who believe that all peoples are entitled to the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to a more equitable world. Their mission is to foster human development and global understanding through education and training. The WUSC Student Refugee Program (SRP) is a national program that sponsors individuals who are living and studying in refugee camps across the world.
WUSC is a registered Canadian charity with headquarters in Ottawa and regional offices in Africa, Asia and South America. It was founded more than 60 years ago. WUSC overseas branches run several development projects in the Balkans, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Haiti, Malawi, Peru, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. WUSC deliver meaningful development results overseas in education and health, sustainable livelihoods – such as vocational training and agriculture/rural development, and governance – to strengthen civil society, promoting human rights and peace building. International volunteer cooperation is one of WUSC’s main tools for delivering development results. Through Uniterra, a joint five-year program of WUSC and the Centre for International Studies (CECI),WUSC mobilize more than 1000 volunteers from Canada and twelve developing countries to work to reduce poverty through innovative North/South partnerships.
WUSC is unique among development organizations in its ability to link Canada’s colleges and universities with its overseas activities. WUSC is present on campuses across the country, connecting postsecondary students, faculty and leaders through: Local Committee, Student Refugee Program (SRP), Uniterra, International Seminar and Students Without Borders™, and Scholarship Management.
WUSC at Scarborough Campus: Local Committee
UTSC has a Local Committee which provides peer support to incoming SRP students and the ISC Coordinator, International Student Services & Programs provides 1:1 and administrative support to the WUSC UTSC Local Committee. Each semester of full-time study, you help to support one student for one year. WUSC Local Committee at the University of Toronto at Scarborough is a campus-based group of students, faculty and staff who share a common belief in the power of education to change the world. We want to promote global understanding and cooperation and increase understanding of international development issues on campus and in the community. As a vibrant Local Committee, we join with others to create change on our campus and in our community by promoting and participating in unique overseas learning opportunities in developing countries; sponsoring student refugees to pursue their studies on our campuses, and by educating and advocating for social change through activities and events that reach tens of thousands of young people every year.
What Our Local Committee Does
Since 1986, SRP have been active and viable on our campus. Students at Scarborough Campus have sponsored up to 22 students, by 2010, to study and start a new life in Canada. Our first sponsored student was originally from Poland, but we sponsor students from around the world. We have had students from Burma, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Through student levies we are able to support ( 75 cents per full time student and 25 cents per part time student) we are able to support one student every year to study with us at UTSC. Many of our former sponsored students have successfully graduated, we have totally changed their lives, most of them joined the Canadian workforce and some have tried to go back to their countries of origin to initiate sustainable development.
Our local committee also participate in series of campaigns and awareness through:
- Students Without Borders,
- Her Challenge Your Challenge,
- Shine a Light, Fair Trade,
- Bike for AIDS,
- SRP Awareness and Fundraising etc.
Besides, our local committee members participate in national WUSC activities that help build and strengthen the leadership potentials in us, as Canadian students. The Annual Leadership Meeting that take place in Ottawa in August every year, and the Annual Assembly also in Ottawa in November are two once-in-a-lifetime events that have greatly impacted our members who participated in them. Students from all over Canada get together to talk and learnt about real world issues. ‘The forum is a unique national event where participants will gather to learn, discuss and take action on the pressing issues affecting our world today.’ The 3-day events feature panel discussions, case studies, workshops sessions, research presentations and testimonies focusing on the innovative approaches and new ideas transforming development overseas.
