Refugees’ tough transition to uni

By SAMUEL DASEY
FOR refugee students studying at the University of Canberra, support services are vital, though a lack of funding and resources is stretching the limit of these services.
Refugee students face a tough transition process when beginning study life at the university due to their histories, cultural changes, environmental changes, and language barriers.

Manager at the university’s Student Equity and Access Centre Ms Laurie Boal said the scale of the university helps ease the pressure on support staff, yet she does recognise the lack of resources makes delivering support “a balancing act”.

“A small uni means more support is possible … [however] we could always use more funding and resources,” she said.

Ms Boal said the services to the refugee students are necessary in order to help them gain confidence and make friends.

She said the refugee’s situation was similar to that of a rural student, and as a result the university would support both groups through events such as a luncheon to be held on March 23.

“[The event] is about checking in and catching up …dangling the carrot of a free lunch.”

Further support services available to refugees are found through the non profit organisation ‘Companion House’ located in Cook.

A member of the Community Development team at the organisation, Vieli Choka, said he thought the big issue facing the student refugees was that of being able to move on from their traumatic backgrounds, and adapt to new surroundings.

“It’s different on an individual basis, and their levels of trauma … we aim to minimise traumatic impact, and difference in culture and environment,” Choka said.

He also expressed concerns over funding and resources, pointing to such services needing quality staff in order to provide the appropriate levels of support.