Introducing the Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education (CFRE)

The Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education (CFRE) is a newly established nonprofit dedicated to one simple but urgent mission: to expand access to quality education for refugee children.

Gabriel Ndayishimiye, Founder & President of Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education (CFRE)

Our work begins in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi, where thousands of children face daily barriers to learning. Through our pilot program, CFRE will provide primary school students with tuition, uniforms, books, and other essential learning materials. This first step lays the groundwork for a broader vision: a credible, transparent Canadian institution that can deliver long-term educational opportunities to refugee children and build stronger pathways from primary school to higher education.

The founding team of CFRE brings lived experience to this mission. Each of us grew up in refugee camps and completed our early education with support from the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). Later, through the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) Student Refugee Program, we were given the opportunity to pursue higher education at Canadian universities. These experiences showed us two things: the transformative power of education, and the urgency of ensuring that such opportunities are not left to chance.

We are now working to build CFRE as a Canadian-based nonprofit rooted in accountability, transparency, and credibility. But we cannot do this alone.

We invite you — community members, educational institutions, businesses, charities, NGOs, and well-wishers — to partner with us. Your support, whether through expertise, financial contributions, or institutional collaboration, will help ensure that refugee children have the opportunity to learn, to grow, and to shape their futures.

This is the beginning of CFRE’s journey. We welcome you to be part of it.

Join Us in Building the Future

In July 2019, Gabriel Ndayishimiye joined a diverse cohort of 15 students from Canada, Malawi, and Dzaleka Refugee Camp for an international seminar on refugee issues in Malawi. Themed, Youth Leadership for Refugee Self-Reliance, the seminar integrated classroom learning with community-based research. The findings were compiled into a report presented to the Government of Malawi, UNHCR, and other partner organizations. This experience deepened Gabriel’s conviction that refugee youth must not only be studied but also supported with concrete opportunities. That conviction is now at the heart of the Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education (CFRE), which he co-founded to expand access to education for refugee children and turn fragile opportunities into lasting pathways.  A copy of Gabriel’s reflection essay is available upon request.

Dear Colleagues and Supporters,

The Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education (CFRE) is at the beginning of its journey — but the need is urgent, and the opportunity is real. Your expertise, your resources, and your partnerships can help transform fragile opportunities into lasting access to education for refugee children. As Founder and President of the Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education (CFRE), I want to share with you why this work matters, and how together we can create meaningful change.

My own education was shaped by organizations that believed in investing in people. The Jesuit Refugee Service supported my schooling in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi. Later, the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) Student Refugee Program gave me the opportunity to pursue higher education at Huron University College, where I completed an Honours degree in Globalization Studies. These opportunities transformed my life — yet they remain out of reach for far too many children.

This is the gap CFRE exists to address. Our mission is straightforward: to expand access to education for refugee children by building a strong, credible, and transparent Canadian institution that can deliver results at scale.

Our pilot program will begin in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp by sponsoring primary school students with tuition, uniforms, books, and other essential materials. While modest in scope, this initiative is designed as a foundation for growth — supported through partnerships with universities, schools, businesses, and community organizations.

To achieve this, we are seeking:

• Expertise: Professionals in governance, finance, education, and nonprofit management to guide our growth.

• Financial investment: Contributions that directly fund student sponsorships and strengthen organizational systems.

• Institutional partnerships: Universities, NGOs, and community organizations that can help us expand capacity and scale impact.

Education changes lives, but only when it is accessible. CFRE exists to make that access possible. With your support, we can grow from a pilot project to a lasting institution, moving from serving a handful of children to building opportunities for an entire generation.

I invite you to join us at this critical stage. Together, we can build the pathways that allow refugee children to learn, to grow, and to contribute to stronger communities in Canada and beyond.

Sincerely,

Gabriel Ndayishimiye

Founder & President

Canadian Foundation for Refugee Education (CFRE)