Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education | Hope Starts Here: With Education

Education is a Right for All

At CFRE, we create pathways to learning for everyone.

About the Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education (CFRE)

The Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education (CFRE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating pathways to education and strengthening settlement supports for people rebuilding their lives in Canada and beyond.

At CFRE, we understand the word refugee in its broad, humanitarian sense. We support all those who are displaced, resettling, or navigating migration and settlement systems in search of relief, security, and belonging. Our commitment is to walk alongside them at every stage of learning and integration.

We do this by providing sponsorships, settlement services, essential learning resources, and support for schools and institutions in communities engaged in resettlement and integration.

CFRE also builds sustainable partnerships with local and international stakeholders, conducts research, and promotes scholarship led by people with lived experiences of displacement and migration. Through this work, we aim to strengthen educational and settlement opportunities, empowering children, youth, and families to create secure, hopeful, and self-reliant futures.

In addition, we amplify migrant voices by publishing stories, studies, and reflections from people whose lives have been shaped by displacement, migration, and belonging. By promoting both literary art and academic excellence, we contribute to richer knowledge in the fields of education, migration, and settlement while ensuring those most affected are heard and recognized.

Dear Friends,

At the Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education (CFRE), our vision is rooted in lived experience.

Most of us at CFRE began our journeys in refugee camps, where access to education and settlement support was made possible by organizations such as the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World University Service of Canada (WUSC), and donor governments.

Today, as Canadians and professionals, we carry that experience into our work. We founded CFRE to extend support and build concrete pathways for refugees of all ages who are rebuilding their lives, including: language learning (English/French instruction and testing support); credential recognition (evaluation of prior education and guidance on licensing pathways); bridging to college and university (academic advising, admissions support, scholarships, and preparatory coursework); vocational training (short courses, certifications, and apprenticeships); digital access (practical digital skills training to use learning and settlement platforms); mentorship (academic, career, and peer mentoring); and settlement navigation (assistance with housing, health care, legal documentation, income supports, and community services).

Building a credible and lasting institution requires more than good intentions. It requires people. It requires partners who will help us strengthen a solid foundation for this organization. That is why I am reaching out to you.

We seek human resource support from professionals who can lend expertise in governance, administration, education, finance, communications, and program design. We welcome financial contributions of any size to support language learning, credential recognition, postsecondary access, vocational training, and essential settlement needs. We also invite community champions who will share our story, amplify our mission, and help us build networks that endure.

Every act of support brings us closer to ensuring that a newcomer can enroll in a language class, have credentials assessed, enter a training program, return to school, or gain the confidence and connections needed to thrive in a new community. Together, we can turn these goals into reality.

On behalf of the Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education, I invite you to join us. Your time, your skills, your resources, and your voice can help ensure that people who have experienced displacement have real opportunities to learn, work, and belong.

Aliny Sibomana
Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education (CFRE)
London, Ontario, Canada

A Message From Our CEO

Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education unveils logo of publishing arm

The image of a raised fist wielding a sharpened pencil symbolizes the defiance of the displaced against silence imposed by exile and marginalization.

Joni Surette-Nelson, Strategic Advisor, Learning and Education at CFRE

Guiding CFRE’s Education and Learning Pathways: A Conversation with Joni Surette-Nelson

Over the next 90 days, Joni will be listening to learners, team members, and settlement organizations to better understand the educational needs and challenges faced by refugees and newcomers.

Creating Impact Through Connection: Meet Neethu Thomas, Coordinator, Institutional & Partnership Events, at CFRE

I’m passionate about creating inclusive spaces where collaboration, learning, and community engagement can thrive. This role allows me to combine my organizational skills and creativity with my commitment to fostering connections that make a lasting impact.

How You Can Contribute to Our Mission

Partner With CFRE

At the Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education (CFRE), we believe that lasting change happens when communities, institutions, and individuals come together with a shared commitment. By partnering with us, you become part of a collective effort to ensure that refugee children have access to quality education and the opportunities it creates.

Partnerships with CFRE can take many forms:

Educational Institutions – Engage your students in service-learning, volunteer programs, and fundraising initiatives.
Businesses and Corporations – Demonstrate your commitment to corporate social responsibility by investing in refugee education and future workforce development.
Community and Faith-Based Organizations – Collaborate on outreach, events, and awareness campaigns that build bridges across communities.
Foundations and Nonprofits – Strengthen impact by aligning resources and expertise to expand access to education for refugee children.

Together, we can create pathways of hope, dignity, and opportunity for children who might otherwise be left behind. Join us in building a future where education is not a privilege, but a right.

To explore partnership opportunities, please contact us at [email address].

Volunteer Opportunities

At the Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education (CFRE), volunteering is more than goodwill — it is an opportunity to apply your skills, expand your professional experience, and contribute to building a credible, results-driven nonprofit.

We engage volunteers in clearly defined roles that support our organizational priorities, including:

Fundraising & Events: Coordinate campaigns, manage logistics, and engage stakeholders.
Partnership Development: Assist in outreach to universities, businesses, and community organizations.
Communications & Media: Support website management, content creation, and social media strategies.
Administration & Research: Contribute to database management, prospect research, and reporting.
Specialized Expertise: Offer professional skills in finance, law, grant writing, or program evaluation.

Volunteers are provided with guidance, resources, and measurable objectives. This ensures that your contribution has a direct, tangible impact while also building transferable experience in nonprofit management and community engagement.

To learn more or sign up as a volunteer, please contact us at [email address].

Ways to Support Our Mission

Supporting the Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education (CFRE) is not limited to direct donations. There are multiple strategic ways individuals, institutions, and organizations can contribute to advancing our mission:

Corporate Partnerships: Align your business with CFRE through sponsorships, workplace giving programs, or corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
In-Kind Contributions: Provide goods or services such as office space, equipment, printing, professional consulting, or software that reduce our operating costs and increase efficiency.
Institutional Collaboration: Universities, schools, and research centers can partner with CFRE to offer student placements, service-learning projects, or joint research initiatives.
Professional Expertise: Lawyers, accountants, communications specialists, and grant writers can contribute their knowledge to strengthen our governance, compliance, and fundraising capacity.
Networking & Introductions: Leverage your professional and personal networks to connect CFRE with potential donors, partners, and advisors.
Sponsorship of Specific Projects: Fund targeted initiatives such as student tuition sponsorships, program evaluation studies, or capacity-building workshops.

To explore how you or your organization can partner with us, please contact [email address].