UWinnipeg student Ayan Salah, Opportunity Fund recipient
WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg is committed to helping youth dream big. Since 2008, UWinnipeg has been able to offer almost 300 students fast-track bursaries thanks to generous private donations to the Opportunity Fund. The fund is unique in Canada, set up specifically to offer financial support to youth who are underrepresented on campus including Aboriginal students, young people from war-affected areas and refugee populations, and youth from inner-city neighbourhoods.
Ayan Salah is in her first year at UWinnipeg, studying sociology and biostatistics. Born in Somalia, her family was forced to flee the war-stricken country when she was an infant. Ayan spent her first 15 years living inside a guarded compound at the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. She arrived in Winnipeg 4 years ago, with a grade two education, speaking no English.
“All I knew how to say was hi,” says Ayan. “But I love to study and I went to after-school programs and then I discovered the Global Welcome Centre at The University of Winnipeg where I got help with my homework. I never thought I would go to university. The $770 I received from the Opportunity Fund helped me make my decision. Now I can study part-time and work part-time.”
Ayan lives with her mother and two brothers and helps to support her family financially working as a waitress. Her goal is to obtain a university degree and work in international development, drawing on her experience as a refugee.
“Canada is amazing,” she says. “Here you can work hard and earn money and go to school. I feel I have a really good opportunity in life now.”
The goal of the Opportunity Fund is to create a $10 million endowment fund that will ensure that everyone, regardless of background and socio-economic status, has access to higher education.
UWinnipeg Chancellor Bob Silver & Kim Silver, Honourary Co-Chairs of I Love UWinnipeg Dinner 2010, invite everyone to help support this important cause by attending a fundraising event which includes dinner, lively entertainment with a Dixieland band, as well as auctions and raffles throughout the evening.
DINNER DETAILS
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
Cocktails: 6:00 pm
Dinner: 7:00 pm
Canad Inns Polo Park (Main Ballroom)
TICKETS: $85.00 per person ($40.00 tax receipt)
Corporate tables are available.
You can download sponsor & ticket information here. (PDF)
or contact: E: iheartuwinnipeg@boomdonenext.com
Boom Done Next: P: 204.415.2472
Proceeds benefit The University of Winnipeg’s Opportunity Fund as well as the Wesmen Athletics Scholarships Fund and Alumni Scholarships. You can find detailed information at Opportunity fund.
or for more information and to purchase tickets, please contact:
E: iheartuwinnipeg@boomdonenext.com
P: Boom Done Next: 204.415.2472
