Refugees in Rwanda earn degrees from SNHU
Program plans to expand to more countries
Program plans to expand to more countries
Program plans to expand to more countries
Southern New Hampshire University is expanding a program to help refugees earn degrees.
This summer, more than 100 refugees in Rwanda graduated with an SNHU diploma, and more funding is on the way to take the project to other countries. SNHU announced a $10 million plan funded by anonymous donors to bring higher education to people in difficult circumstances around the world.
"Having been an educator for the last 15 years of my life, I would say I haven't met a group to which the opportunity is so transformational, because the only other opportunity is literally nothing," said SNHU refugee teacher Chrystina Russell.
SNHU launched the pilot program in 2013 in Rwanda. About 500 refugees were taught at learning centers in their camps. This summer, about 125 students graduated with an American degree from an accredited institution, free of charge.
"These are students who literally have no other option," Russell said. "So, because they're living as refugees in Rwanda, they don't have any right, as students who are residents would."
Officials said most of the Rwandan students are working toward degrees in business and communication, skills that fit the situation they're in.
"In the Middle East, for example, we're going to focus more on the kinds of programs that refugees will need as they eventually go back and rebuild their countries," SNHU President Paul LeBlanc said. "So if you think about it, construction management, trauma counseling, front-line clinical health care and health care policy."
University officials said the goal is to educate 50,000 refugees in 20 locations by 2022.