Marwo Abdi was separated from her family and home country of Somalia when war broke out in 1990. She was only 6 years old and in the chaos of war she was temporarily separated from her family and her father was killed.
After fleeing to Kenya and living in the world’s largest refugee camp for 17 years, Marwo got a scholarship through World University Service of Canada to study at the University of Victoria (UVic) in 2008. After she came to Canada, she was able to sponsor her husband Mohammed to emigrate here. In 2014 she got her Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Sociology. She and Mohammed now have three beautiful children ages 10, 7, and 2.
Their other 11 surviving family members are still living in refugee camps in Uganda and Kenya, and because of restrictions on refugee movement they have no options for employment. So in addition to the costs of raising 3 kids, Marwo and Mohammed also send their families in refugee camps close to $1,000 per month to cover basics like food and medicine.
Marwo and Mohammed have both worked very hard trying to make ends meet. They have juggled parenting and working for non-profits supporting homeless youth, adults in the street community, and survivors of gender-based violence. But wages for frontline social service workers are too low for the family to sustain the high costs for their families. One of their children has disabilities and needs supports that aren’t fully covered by government programs. To be able to work or go to school they need in-home childcare, but the government subsidy is a fraction of the actual costs. And there is no government assistance towards supporting loved ones in refugee camps.
Marwo’s struggle to become a teacher
To help with financial sustainability for their families, Marwo decided to go back to university to become a teacher in elementary schools. Education is a lifelong passion for Marwo and she loves working with youth. She completed all of the pre-requisites and was accepted into the highly competitive 16-month intensive full-time program at UVic, starting this semester.
As friends of Marwo we believe in her and know she would be an amazing support for youth in the education system. As a Black Muslim Somali woman who survived war and grew up in a refugee camp, she has incredible strength and resilience, and so much to offer to youth who have experienced trauma including BIPOC youth who experience significant marginalization and discrimination on a daily basis. And in addition to being an incredible teacher, their family needs the increased financial stability that a teacher’s salary would provide.
But in August 2021 Marwo was told that her application for a student loan was denied, because she already owes money for student loans for previous studies and (because of their low family income) has been receiving interest relief on that earlier loan.
This was unexpected and devastating news. The teacher training program is an intensive full-time commitment and Marwo can’t work and parent 3 kids while taking the program. Without the student loan they have no way to cover tuition, fees, and books let alone the portion of rent, food, and childcare that the student loan would have helped cover. The earlier loan was to take the prerequisites for the teacher training program, so if she’s not able to take the actual teacher training then the family is in debt for courses that were taken for no reason.
Financial barriers for refugees
The decision not to allow further student loans to the family creates a catch-22 for Marwo and Mohammed. Because of their high family expenses and barriers to adequate employment, they can’t make enough money to pay off the existing student loan unless Marwo goes back to school to get more credentials. But she can’t go to school if she has no way to cover those costs.
Just as there has been recognition in recent years that kids who age out of the foster care system need financial support to reduce barriers to education, refugees who have no family here also need support to make education accessible.
Marwo didn’t have the same opportunities as youth here, and doesn’t have the kind of family resources many university students here have. Despite this she has overcome amazing odds to succeed in her university life. But money has now become an overwhelming barrier.
Community support can make a difference
If the student loan had come through, Marwo would have received over $20,000 for the first 8 months of the 16-month program. We are hoping to raise $20,000 from community as a starting point, to make sure Marwo can cover tuition, books, and fees for all four semesters ($16,500) with the remaining $3,500 towards childcare and other living expenses in the first semester. This gives us more time to do further fundraising to help with childcare and other living costs.
Marwo needs to buy books right away, and the first installment of tuition is due September 30. Thank you for helping by sharing this fundraiser through your networks and contributing what you can.
No donation is too small, every amount helps!
Thank you for supporting Marwo and her family!
Organized by Joshua Goldberg
Victoria, CA