{"id":51535,"date":"2018-11-07T17:07:07","date_gmt":"2018-11-07T22:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=51535"},"modified":"2025-09-30T11:24:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T15:24:01","slug":"siblings-earn-biochemistry-degrees","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/siblings-earn-biochemistry-degrees\/","title":{"rendered":"Refugee Siblings Triumph with Biochemistry Degrees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Refugee Siblings Triumph with Biochemistry Degrees\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

It\u2019s rare for an older sister to walk across the stage to accept her undergraduate degree alongside her brother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And study the same subject and get the same degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then get the same full-time job upon graduating to save money and prepare for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hoping to become doctors one day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Esther Munezero and Elysee Iraganje, who have completed Bachelor of Science<\/a> degrees in biochemistry<\/a> at Carleton University, the path to donning Convocation<\/a> gowns has been full of challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Elysee Iraganje and\u00a0Esther Munezero<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Separated from their parents because of political unrest, with no choice of returning to their home country, they were forced to adapt to a new life a continent away to pursue academia and stay safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less than two years apart in age, the refugee siblings love science and initially thought about biology before quickly turning to biochemistry and finding it was the right mix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTaking biochem allowed us to explore a broader range of research projects and to focus more on human-related research, which was what we were looking for,\u201d says Munezero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Munezero and Iraganje are from Burundi, in East Africa. In Burundi culture, each person in a family has a different last name based on individual meaning and how the family situation is that year. Every name tells a story. Munezero means \u201cjoy\u201d and Iraganje means \u201cGod reign.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A younger brother is also here in Ottawa studying biology at the University of Ottawa. The three siblings live together and support one another, with the rest of the family stuck in limbo.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Forced to Flee<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Munezero explains the political unrest which began in Burundi in 2015 forced her family to flee their country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy parents became targets due to their position in the community. They are doctors and were running a non-profit organization and (also) were deacons in the largest non-Catholic church in Burundi. The government wanted them to use their position to influence people’s votes and opinions through their position, which they refused to do,\u201d says Munezero.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThey became targets, and soon after (they and) the organization were threatened by police and the presidential security forces. My parents and my little brother managed to get out of the country and go to Uganda just before the police started coming around at our home.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

At the time that their parents and youngest brother fled Burundi, Munezero, Igaranje and their other brother, Joshua, were already in the United States studying at Oklahoma Christian University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Munezero was in her third year of biochemistry when the unrest began. Unable to pay their tuition in the U.S. and only on a student visa, they could not stay any longer. They headed to Canada and claimed asylum in December 2015. An aunt living in Ottawa took them in, but with six children of her own, the three siblings had to get their own place. After seven months living in a shelter they were able to move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOnce our asylum was granted, all we wanted was to get back into school,\u201d says Munezero. \u201cThe same day we got it in July, we applied for the fall semester. Luckily, our program was still open and we registered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The siblings attended the only English-speaking high school in Burundi. However, when Munezero finished in Grade 11, she moved to Kenya to finish a program to have the equivalency to begin studying biochemistry in the U.S. Iraganje was luckier in that the equivalencies changed in the Burundi school system in time for him to complete the requirements to begin at the Oklahoma Christian University with her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere in Canada, most universities will only equate enough credits for two years. A lot of elective courses that were a must in the States did not mean much here at Carleton. Only the core courses that I had taken had equivalent courses at Carleton,\u201d explains Munezero. \u201cSo at the end of the day, we ended up both just halfway through second year when we transferred.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cWith full-time studies every semester, including summer classes, we managed to complete the program in the two years we were at Carleton.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cAt the beginning, it was challenging to move to a new town and country,\u201d says Iraganje. \u201cOur family relatives helped us get settled well in Canada. The first winter was frightening, but we got used to it and started liking it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Munezero found it difficult to deal with uncertainty over their refugee claim and whether they would be able to continue their university studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing halfway through college already, it felt like we were giving up on our dreams and our future just became more uncertain,\u201d says Munezero.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A City With a Different Feel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Now the fear has changed to appreciation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOttawa has a much different feel than the city we were living in in the States. I feel like I meet a different culture every month, it\u2019s amazing. Meeting new people has personally burst more and more of little bubbles of the unknown culture. I have met people that I did not ever imagine I would meet in my lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Most of all, I have come to learn that there is plenty of opportunities for those who look for them. Carleton itself is full of resources that are available for students. All that is needed is to reach out and someone will help. If they cannot, they would direct you to someone who can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCarleton University was a great experience,\u201d says Iraganje. \u201cProfessors were very nice and eager to help me succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More Interesting Reads:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n