MPACS Students Receive Scholarships for Work with Internationally Displaced Persons

The 2019 Katherine Lemke Heinrichs Scholarship (KLHS) has been awarded to two Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) students at Conrad Grebel University College and the University of Waterloo. The KLHS is awarded to students who are dedicated to areas of peace and conflict transformation and international human rights regarding displaced persons. Moffat Sithole and Stephanie Schreuders received the scholarship upon submitting powerful essays about their personal connections to peace and internationally displaced persons.

Moffat wrote of being drawn to Peace and Conflict Studies throughout his undergraduate degree as he recognized the applications of PACS concepts within areas of conflict resolution that he was passionate about. Growing up during Zimbabwe’s nationalist liberation civil wars led him to realize that the fundamentals of peacebuilding weren’t simply about who deserved what. The methods used to remove the violent colonial rule led him to believe that there must be more to peacebuilding. “Removing violence using violent means does not always guarantee peace,” he reflected.

Taking PACS courses led Moffat to find a fresh perspective on the conflicts he saw in Zimbabwe and around the world. “I began to see myself as a person who was going to make a difference in their world by becoming a peace-builder,” he shared. Moffat said that he learned a lot from the systems approach in PACS. The “idea of conceptualizing social problems as complex systems that call for complex approaches to solve them,” was an important concept in his understanding of conflict transformation.

Stephanie’s desire to assist refugees in resettlement arose when working with the Welcome Home Refugee House in Waterloo after her undergraduate degree. One aspect of her job involved connecting newcomers with established Canadians. She noted “the importance of encounter and relationship is something that I will continue to take with me into our ever-polarizing society as I continue in the work of welcoming newcomers to Canada.” Stephanie is thankful for the scholarship’s focus on the importance of refugee settlement, as “it's not often you read a scholarship description and find that it reflects your interests so closely.”

Her MPACS experience has also shown Stephanie the underlying issues that lead to a person’s displacement. She is “gaining a deeper understanding of the complex roots of conflict as well as peacebuilding strategies that can be applied to international-level conflicts as well as interpersonal conflicts.” Stephanie wants to continue building bridges as a way to help those settling in Canada. “It is my desire to welcome refugees to our communities and to encourage people to think creatively of how they can also welcome people to their own communities,” she explained.

“It is encouraging to watch students in the MPACS program find peacebuilding applications within an issue that is close to them,” remarked Nathan Funk, Associate Professor and Chair of the PACS department at Grebel and UWaterloo. “We are proud of Stephanie and Moffat for the obvious initiative they are taking in applying peace practices to the issue of displaced persons.” The MPACS program at Grebel and UWaterloo facilitates student learning and encourages them to discover the intersections of peace with social issues that resonate personally. Moffat and Stephanie exemplify what it is to find those intersections and work towards peace in an ever-evolving society.