Meet Jackson: A refugee student from the DRC who turned his passion for technology into a career in IT. Jackson will join SNHU GEM students from around the world at a World Refugee Day panel on Thursday, June 23.
Jackson Habimfura is a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University’s Global Education Movement (SNHU GEM). Born and raised in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jackson migrated to Rwanda at the age of five. While living in the Kiziba Refugee Camp, Jackson found a pathway to higher education through Kepler Kiziba’s partnership with SNHU GEM. He completed an associate degree in 2017 and a bachelor’s degree in management with a concentration in logistics and operations in 2018.
During his time in Kiziba, Jackson came to believe that social entrepreneurship and technology could offer creative solutions to the problems refugees face. He ran a programming program called Urwego that equipped refugee students in Kiziba Refugee Camp with programming skills. Jackson also secured an internship in IT at Kepler Kiziba, and accepted a position as an IT Assistant after his internship ended.
With his internship and job experience, Jackson was a natural fit for a contractor position supporting the SNHU Technology Help Desk in Kigali, Rwanda. Working with Inkomoko Entrepreneur Development, Jackson has supported SNHU GEM students and staff with technological issues, offering analysis, problem resolution, and emergency support since 2019.
As a refugee, Jackson is acutely aware of the significance that World Refugee Day holds. “World Refugee Day is an opportunity for every human being to reflect on the life of displaced people, think of supporting systems, and set the measures to prevent and minimize the causes of those displacements around the world,” said Jackson. “A refugee or any other displaced person still has human rights. The world must know that.”
You can hear from Jackson and other SNHU GEM students about their experiences navigating higher education as refugee learners during our World Refugee Day roundtable event, hosted by SNHU President Paul LeBlanc on Thursday, June 23 at 9 a.m. ET. To register, visit bit.ly/WRDSNHUGEM.
