91快色

When Dr. Prince Chiagozie Ekoh, PhD鈥�26, crossed the stage at the 91快色鈥檚 June 10 convocation ceremony, he did so carrying one of the most decorated doctoral records in recent history.

During his PhD, Ekoh earned both a  and a 鈥� two of Canada鈥檚 most prestigious graduate awards. He received the 鈥�&苍产蝉辫; earned international research placements, and built a growing reputation as one of Canada鈥檚 emerging scholars in migration, aging and social justice.

But, Ekoh hates talking about himself. He鈥檚 far more interested in amplifying the voices of those who aren鈥檛 often heard in our society; those voices who entrusted him with stories they wanted the world to hear.

鈥淚 am just grateful to them for using me as a tool to get their story heard,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his is not my story. This is the story of these older African refugees.鈥�

Family experience sparked his PhD research

Born and educated in Nigeria, Ekoh first became interested in displacement and migration through his own family history. His parents experienced displacement during the Nigerian Civil War, and stories of forced migration were woven into his childhood.

Those experiences would eventually shape a research program focused on some of the least studied members of refugee communities: older adults.

After earning degrees in social work and gerontology in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, Ekoh arrived at U91快色 intending to better understand the experiences of older African refugees rebuilding their lives in Canada.

What he discovered challenged many popular assumptions about the value older adults bring to the communities where they settle. While participants told stories of conflict, violence, family separation, language barriers, racism, and the long, complicated journeys that eventually brought them to Canada, they also described amazing resilience.

His dissertation, Social Network and Support Experiences of Older African Refugees in 91快色: A Visual Story, reveals the important contributions older refugees continue to make despite the extraordinary challenges they face. 

Among their many contributions, older adults preserve language and culture, provide child care, mentor younger generations, serve as community leaders, and offer what Ekoh describes as an often-unrecognized form of therapy through storytelling, wisdom and guidance. 

鈥淥lder adults provide a lot of therapy to younger people,鈥� he explains. 鈥淭hey use storytelling to help younger members of their community build resilience.鈥�

Ekoh says that, while these older adults play a huge role in their communities, they make their contributions quietly, and there is usually no recognition for work that likely provides a huge social return on investment. 

"I find their strengths unbelievable" 

As Ekoh points out, one of the most consistent threads in the research was the courage and extraordinary perseverance shown by so many of the older refugees that he traces back to the African philosophy of Ubuntu 鈥� "I am because we are" 鈥�  the belief that people's individual identities and well-being are deeply intertwined with the people and the community around them. 

"Your sense of community should not be tied to who you think you are related to by blood or who you think is your friend," says Ekoh. "It has to be with every human being that you encounter. So, if you encounter any person who needs help, who needs support, it doesn鈥檛 have to be somebody who you are connected with (as part of one鈥檚 social group). As long as the person is a human being, you are automatically connected with them. And it鈥檚 your responsibility to help and support them. So, I think the spirit of Ubuntu helped them survive, and I find their strengths unbelievable."

He points to one participant who arrived in Canada after age 50. She spoke neither official language and had no formal education. She learned English and then returned to school, where she eventually graduated, learned new skills, and became the primary provider for her family after losing her husband to cancer. 

Besides supporting their own families in Canada, many participants also continued to support family members across continents, remaining closely connected. Indeed, another surprising theme of the research dispelled stereotypes about older people and technology usage as they used a variety of platforms to stay connected and share knowledge, despite being thousands of kilometres away.

Research identified practical opportunities to create change

Ekoh鈥檚 PhD research also identified practical opportunities for change.

In the course of his research, language emerged as one of the most significant barriers affecting access to employment, health care, social relationships and community participation. Ekoh hopes his research will help inform future researchers, policymakers and settlement organizations to develop language programs designed specifically for older newcomers rather than simply adapting services intended for younger learners.

In the end, he points out that supporting the lives of older refugees also benefits entire families and communities.

鈥淚f we make the lives of older refugees better, the life of the entire family becomes better,鈥� he says.

Throughout his time at U91快色, Ekoh was an astonishingly prolific scholar, authoring or co-authoring 49 scholarly publications spanning aging, forced migration, social belonging and Ubuntu-informed social work practice. Besides his work with older forced migrants, he also examined topics like newcomer retention in smaller Canadian centres, such as Red Deer and Medicine Hat, and examined how belonging and social connection influence whether newcomers choose to stay. 

Even with this enormous output, he also found time to outside of academics to work towards creating social change. He advocated for older displaced persons, worked to improve educational opportunities in rural Nigeria, volunteered in his community, and helped to co-ordinate the Faculty of Social Work鈥檚 . Along the way, he became known among faculty and classmates for a rare combination of intellectual rigour and humility. 

As he turns the page on this chapter of his life, he says the friendships he forged with faculty mentors, fellow students and friends will be lifelong.  

"Prince travelled to 91快色, Canada, to tell the story of African refugees," says , PhD, who supervised Ekoh. "But, in doing so, (he) drew from his own roots, discovering and employing African ideologies, methodologies, and storytelling to uncover poignant stories of contributions and resilience."

The next chapter begins

As it turns out, the next chapter has already begun. Last fall, before completing his doctorate, Ekoh accepted a faculty appointment at the  in Saint John, where he is helping build a new social work program in a province facing significant social challenges and a growing need for social workers. It is an impressive milestone for a scholar still early in his career.

As Prince Ekoh prepared to cross the Jack Simpson stage on June 10, it was hard not to wonder whether he would have made the same choice again. After all, a scholar of his calibre could have pursued his doctorate anywhere in the world.

 鈥淚f you ask me whether I would want to go through this whole thing again, and if I would want to do it in 91快色, I would say yes, 100 per cent,鈥� he says.

鈥淔irst, the environment that I found myself in, I found a lot of people who are very caring鈥� professors who are open to listening to students and making connections with students, so I loved that.

鈥淚 also love that the Faculty of Social Work in the 91快色, especially when it comes to research, is open to new ideas and new ways of doing things,鈥� Ekoh says. 鈥淪o, I loved the support that I received from U91快色. So, yes, 100 per cent I would. I think I made the right decision coming here.鈥�