In their own words – Interview with Jean-Claude Dufisumukiza

Here is another interview with a sponsored student at Trent University. Remember, voting on the levy increase takes place all day today and tomorrow at Wenjack Theatre, and all day Wednesday and Thursday in front of Bata Library.

After moving through six different refugee camps since 1993, Jean-Claude was selected for the Student Refugee Program last year. He left the camp in Malawi where he had been living with his younger brother and cousins and arrived in Peterborough last August. He sat down to chat about his first year at Trent and his thoughts about the chance of WUSC sponsoring two students in the future.

Q: What do you think about your experience here at Trent so far?
J-C: Well, I haven’t been to too many places… I visited Ottawa, saw Ottawa U and you know, I like Trent very much. I like the educational system and then also the location. The landscape is very beautiful and it is far from town, so although you have to travel, it’s a quiet place.

Q: What has the WUSC Local Committee done since you arrived that has made the biggest impact on your life?
J-C: The local committee has helped in a lot of things. I don’t even know how to explain it… they’ve showed me places, I didn’t know how to bank, so they showed me. They helped me choose courses, showed me some shops to buy things for cheap… and Tim (Shah) gave me a fridge for my room. That has been so nice!

Q: What would it mean to you to have two students sponsored in the future?
J-C: I think that’s awesome. It’s a good idea, because if the two students were to come from the same location, they would already be friends, and then it would save two families at the same time. Because, it isn’t just me that was helped, it is my entire family.

Q: What are your goals for the future, after you finish at Trent?
J-C: I haven’t decided yet… I think I would like to work in entrepreneurship, maybe with some committees. I would also like to sponsor my young brother to come to Canada, but for now I am just going to enjoy my beautiful life at Trent.