UPEI hosts public presentation about refugee issues on June 15

Margangu Njogu, Executive Director of Windle Trust Kenya, will give a public presentation about refugee issues and the challenges of providing education in refugee camps on Monday, June 15, from 10:30 a.m. to noon in Memorial Hall, Room 417, at UPEI.

Njogu's presentation is co-hosted by the Faculty of Education and WUSC UPEI to mark World Refugee Day on June 20. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that of the 34.2 million people that fall under its mandate, over 11.4 million are refugees.

Windle Trust Kenya is a non-profit organization that provides education and training for refugees and displaced people from the Eastern and Horn of Africa. The Trust operates educational programs in the Da'daab and Kakuma refugee camps in northern Kenya. Kakuma Refugee Camp is home to 90,000 refugees from 10 eastern and central African countries, including The Sudan. The Da'daab Refugee Camp houses over 150,000 refugees from Somalia, Burundi, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda.

The Trust is an important local partner in WUSC's student refugee program, and Njogu serves on WUSC's national board. He has also held various positions with CARE Kenya and the Kenya Institute of Special Education. A graduate of the University of Manchester, he also served as a teacher in regular and special schools in Kenya. He was recently awarded an honourary degree from the University of Guelph. Information about the Windle Trust can be found at www.windle.org.

WUSC has sponsored 1,000 refugee students at Canadian university and colleges through its student refugee program. In the past 25 years, WUSC UPEI has sponsored 17 refugee students from eight countries. Currently, three sponsored students are enrolled at UPEI, and two more are expected to attend the university this fall. For more information about WUSC, visit www.wusc.ca

The Faculty of Education is committed to education for social development. Through its innovative international education specialization, second-year education students can complete their final practicum in a number of different countries, including Kenya.

For information about the presentation, please contact Leo Cheverie at lcheverie@upei.ca or the Faculty of Education at (902) 566-0349.