6/19/19 · Institutional

Almost a hundred volunteers offer support to refugees studying at the UOC

Four students explain their changed perceptions of how refugees are welcomed, following an academic year supporting a refugee student

For six months, Sara León, Fouad Aouaj, Carme Sanchis and Juan Manuel Espinosa each provided support and guidance online – and in some cases in-person – to one of the 105 refugees studying at the UOC as part of its refugee welcome programme. For World Refugee Day (20 June) the UOC has decided to highlight the work performed by 88 volunteers from the university community, people who do what they can to make the welcome programme possible and a success.

These volunteers are students and graduates, teaching and administrative staff, who seek to make integration in the UOC easier for people who have had to flee their home because of armed conflicts, their beliefs or their orientation. The UOC's refugee welcome programme has been awarding scholarships to refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons since 2017. Organizations such as ACCEM, CEAR (Spanish Commission for Refugees), the Spanish Red Cross and SAIER (Barcelona City Council Care Service for Immigrants, Emigrants and Refugees) helped to launch the programme and ensure its success.

Besides the service these volunteers provide, as a form of altruistic behaviour, the experience is a chance for them to broaden their horizons, meet people whose lives are on very different paths to their own, and put into practice their abilities to help others.

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