In 2023, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and Finn Church Aid (FCA) collaborated to assist 31 refugees in pursuing various master’s degrees in Italy. These students, collectively from 13 refugee settlements in Uganda and the capital city Kampala, are beneficiaries of the University Corridors for Refugees (UNICORE) scholarship project.

Text: Kadlah Nabakembo
Photo: Amanuel Tewolde Yosief

THE UNICORE scholarship initiative aims to broaden educational opportunities for refugees residing in Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, with the primary goal of facilitating higher education access and increasing refugee enrolment in Italian universities. Funded by a consortium of 33 universities in Italy, the program is administered by UNHCR Italy.

The comprehensive scholarship covers all expenses, including application fees, tuition, textbooks, language training, a monthly allowance, accommodation, local transportation, health coverage, mentorship or psychosocial support, travel expenses to the host country, visa charges, pre-admission examination costs, settling-in aid, document transitions, and potential work-study or part-time job opportunities where feasible.

As a Communications Officer at Finn Church Aid Uganda, I spoke to one of the UNICORE scholarship beneficiaries, asking about his experience so far.

Amanuel Tewolde Yosief is a 27-year-old from Eritrean origin, who became a refugee. Despite graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the prestigious Asmara College of Health Science, mandatory military service in Eritrea saw him being appointed to work in the military hospital. Like many ambitious young people, there’s a common belief that excelling academically leads to university admission, followed by securing a well-paying job, and ultimately living happily ever after. But this was not the case for Amanuel. 

“I did not feel safe,” Amanuel reveals, “I made a silent decision to disappear and seek refuge in Uganda. I went through Kenya, to Uganda because Uganda is a safe host community”

Amanuel had two friends who had fled to Uganda many months before and were staying in Kansanga (a Kampala suburb). They hosted him and he immediately started looking for refugee study programs on Youtube. Not long after, he learnt of the UNICORE programme.

‘I learned that FCA was helping refugees with the application process, and when I approached them, I was helped for free.” Amanuel says.

When the list of refugees who were set to leave Uganda was revealed, he was disappointed his name was missing.

“They told me, there was a mistake with my travel documents. Seeing my friends leave made me sad.”

Thankfully, the University had an online platform to help Amanuel study and not lose time and knowledge. For two months he walked four kilometres from Kansanga to Muyenga and back so that he could study using Finn Church Aid’s stable internet connection.

“It is also a very conducive place to study so this really helped me a lot,” he says.

Despite initial setbacks with travel documents, he kept hopeful and carried on, utilising online study resources provided by the University and FCA’s facilities to keep on the same academic page with the rest of the UNICORE masters students.

“I kept my hopes high and in two months, I was set to go to Italy,” he says with a smile. Upon arrival in Italy, he was warmly received by the UNICORE team and settled into his new home.

Now focusing on his studies, Amanuel is pursuing a master’s degree in Biotechnological and Chemical Sciences in Diagnostics at the University of Turin.

FCA will continue monitoring the success of refugee beneficiaries to gauge the program’s impact.