For most students, a bachelor’s degree is a way to secure a better future for themselves.But for 10 Haitian students at the Université du Québec à Rimouski, it’s a way to contribute to their country’s future.

UQAR, a public university about 300 kilometres north of Quebec City, entered a partnership with the Université d’État d’Haïti in Port-au-Prince after the January earthquake that devastated the country, said Mario Bélanger, a campus communications officer who worked on the program.

They decided to host 10 of its students, free of charge.

“People here were very affected by the drama in Haiti at the beginning of the year, and some people here wanted to take concrete action,” Bélanger said in French. 

“What a university can do best is offer training.”

The value of the scholarship is approximately $24,000, he said.

“The program is not very expensive for us, because our programs don’t cost very much and some people have given money to help with housing,” Bélanger said. 

Some of the students have also been put up by Rimouski residents for the duration of their time in Canada, he said.

One of the students selected for the program, Francique Pochette, said the deans at Université d’État first chose 30 students to be considered. Two representatives from UQAR then travelled to Haiti and interviewed them to select the final 10, seven men and three women from a wide range of fields.

Bélanger said Pochette, Marline Brunache, Gaëlle Claude, Junior-Hébert Dérifond, Aude-Laure Gonel, José Jean Julien, Jean Etzer Mevoit, Michelet Maurisseau, Oland Pierre and Matiel Thermidort arrived within the last week after getting the necessary papers. 

Bélanger said all the students had very high grades at university in Haiti and did well on a French test. While French is an official language in Haiti, most people speak Créole, a mixture of French and African words and sentence structure, in daily life.

Pochette, a first-year administration student, said it was a pleasure to be selected and come to Canada.

He said current conditions in Haiti make attending classes there difficult, but the Rimouski partnership means he’ll be able to focus on his studies.

Following the earthquake, his classes were held outside in tents, and this year he wasn’t sure when he’d be able to go back to school, he said in French.

Pochette said the earthquake didn’t significantly affect his home or family, but much of his academic work was buried in debris.

Mostly, he said, he was affected by the overall devastation.

“Since we are all Haitian, it touched me in a global manner,” he said.

The 10 students participating were asked to commit themselves to return to Haiti once they finish their studies, said Bélanger

“We hope the students are going to return and help their country,” he said.

The Haitian students “will be able to bring to term their studies,  which were compromised by this natural disaster that upended all their plans,” said UQAR rector Michel Ringuet in a French-language statement.

“In a few years they will return to the Université d’État d’Haïti, and with the knowledge they have acquired in Quebec,  they will be able to contribute to the reconstruction of the country, especially through training.”

Pochette said he hopes he will be able to contribute to rebuilding efforts once he goes home.

“I hope the country will need me. It is very important for us to rebuild our country,” he said.

Pochette said it would be inevitable for him to return after finishing his degree.

For the next three years, however, he said  his focus will be finishing school successfully.

For now, he is working on adapting to life in Canada.

This trip is the first time Pochette has travelled abroad, he said, and he is making sure to take the transition slow.

“You have to take the time to adapt,” he said.

What has impressed him the most is how nice and hospitable Canadians are, he said.

Bélanger said the students’ integration into Rimouski life was off to a good start.

“The students I’ve met seem like they’re doing very well,” he said.  “They’re very open to other people, they speak good French, and so I don’t have a lot of concerns there.”

Pochette agreed he was settling in well for now, but conceded he was worried about what comes next.

With Rimouski temperatures currently in the 19-20 degree range,  Pochette said it’s already cold for him. He said he isn’t looking forward to winter.

Winter temperatures in the region dip well below freezing, and snow is abundant.

“I’m not ready yet,” said Pochette.