Other Initiatives

Queen’s WUSC supports several important initiatives throughout the year:

 

Shine a Light Campaign

This initiative is a branch of WUSC’s in-camp strategy for refugee programming, which aims to: increase girls’ access to education, improve the quality of and access to formal and non-formal education, and increase awareness amongst Canadians about refugee issues. This work is currently centred in Northern Kenya, where many girls are not able to attend school. Specific project goals for the refugee camps in this area include building girl-friendly school environments, providing targeted support to female students, and generating parent and community support for girls’ education.

Local Committees like Queen’s WUSC aid in this effort by raising money for the Shine a Light Campaign. This initiative’s name comes from the need for solar lamps to be installed in many communities to allow for longer school days, as well as evening classes to be able to be held. However, its positive effects are much larger.

As calculated by WUSC :

• 177,852 marginalized girls reached through community outreach
• 23,407 girls benefitting from improved education
• 34,915 boys benefiting (indirectly) from improved education
• 36 new classrooms built
• 92% success rate of these students
• 100,000+ textbooks purchased and distributed to schools
• 10,000+ solar lamps purchased and distributed to girls
• 350 teachers trained in girl-friendly education

 

Ride for Refuge

Ride for Refuge is an event which occurs every September in cities across Canada. It allows teams to sign up to walk or ride with the goal to raise funds for a charity of choice with a focus on refugee welfare. Our local committee raises money for WUSC’s student refugee program through this platform, and aims to continue to do so in the future. All money collected goes towards helping more refugees be able to come to Canada to pursue post-secondary education in a safe and supportive environment.

This year Queen’s was one of 19 teams representing WUSC local committees across the country, from Victoria to Halifax. In total these teams raised over $13,000 for the SRP Program.

 

Student Refugee Program (SRP) Awareness Month

January is SRP Awareness month, and this initiative focuses on increasing awareness about the purpose of this program and the ways that others on campus can get involved. Events may include bake sales, ethically-sourced tea and hot chocolate giveaways and more!