Academically educated refugees have been able to take individual courses at Wageningen University since September 2017 as they await their residence permits. The problem is that these refugees are often unable to afford the travel costs to Wageningen and the textbooks from their own pocket money.

Being able to study instead of waiting in an AZC is of great importance for highly educated refugees. It gives them the opportunity to be more than a refugee, to feel like a student, a researcher, to stay up-to-date in their field and to accelerate the chances of work and integration. It is unfortunate if good people who are admitted to one of the lectures cannot come because of travel expenses. Some travel from far, like Amsterdam or Zwolle, and at their own expense. Sometimes the travel costs amount to half or more of their weekly pocket money.

We, WUR employees Suzanna van der Meer, Marjolijn Dannenburg and Johan Feenstra, support this project because of our personal affinity with refugees. It is heartening to see that many teachers are willing to open up their courses to refugees and that study advisors are prepared to conduct intake interviews with refugees to find out which course they can best follow.

During the promotional week in 2017, The DURF Foundation (Ceres) raised 2956 euros for the project. This amount has been supplemented to 3000 euros by a Syrian refugee with an academic background, who has found work since arriving here. We would like to at least double this amount. With that money, we can provide support to refugees for whom travel expenses or other costs for learning materials, such as books, readers, and calculators, pose a problem during the next academic year. If enough money is raised, we can also offer courses in academic English, for which there is a great need.

Please participate and donate to the study fund for WURthwhile students!