“I told myself, I’m not going to give up” - two University of Sanctuary students graduate from Dublin City University

For Olufunke Ollarinoye, her DCU experience was the key to escaping “a very dark place” following the death of her daughter. She says the challenge of studying gave her a fresh focus as she struggled with her grief.

Temitope was just 6 years old when she died in Temple Street Children’s Hospital following a four-year illness. Olufunke and her family, who are originally from Nigeria, were living in the Baleskin Reception Centre in Finglas at the time. During the difficult years of her daughter’s illness, much of Olufunke’s time was dedicated to being at Temitope’s bedside in the hospital.

Olufunke recalls, the task of keeping a watchful eye on Cemitope’s medical monitors and devices gave her a routine that provided some distraction from the terrible reality of the situation. “That was the life I knew,” she says. Olufunke didn’t realise quite how serious her daughter’s condition was until very near the end. “It just happened so fast, and she just died suddenly.”

In the months and years that followed, Olufunke admits that it was hard to cope with the profound grief she experienced. Despite receiving mental health support and treatment, she still felt at a loss. “When she died, suddenly I couldn't find my place in the world anymore.” 

At one point, a counsellor suggested that taking on a new challenge could help to fill the void. But it wasn’t until some time later that a visit by DCU’s University of Sanctuary team to Mosney provided a possible answer. When they told her about the newly introduced University of Sanctuary scholarships, Olufunke jumped at the opportunity. “I was like, OK this is it!”

While completing the programme part time, Olufunke secured a job with Irish Life. The role is in the financial sector rather than IT, but she says her DCU degree gave her many transferable skills, which are helping her to advance professionally. “I’ve been doing my professional [accountancy] exams and I've just been passing all of them because I’m using the skills that I learned in DCU. I'm transferring them back to my professional exams, and I've been scoring good grades.”

After she began studying for her degree, Olufunke was granted residency status and moved out of the direct provision system. She volunteers as Youth and Charity Officer in the Prince of Peace Charity. This involves visits to the residents in the Mosney direct provision centre where she enthusiastically promotes the University of Sanctuary scholarship programme to the residents. She proudly says that she has persuaded five others to follow in her footsteps to DCU. 

Looking back, she says her time at the University was a turning point. “DCU helped me put my life in a different perspective”, she said. “It's just a very lovely place.”

“I don’t want to lie to you, I started crying,” says Shepherd Machaya when he recalls the moment he received the offer of a place at DCU. “And it was my birthday!” he adds with a smile. 

As an asylum seeker, University presented a unique set of challenges. At his direct provision centre he had to share a bedroom, which did not always make studying easy. But even greater obstacles lay ahead.

“I was given five days to leave the country,” recalls Shepherd of the day that he received a deportation order from the Department of Justice. 

Not knowing what else to do, he called DCU chaplain Philip McKinley for advice. “I said to Philip, look I have a problem here. I might not see you again.”

What happened next was a whirlwind of activity, as DCU’s students and University staff rowed in to support him. The Students’ Union, led by then-president Vito Moloney Burke, launched an S.O.S. (Save Our Shepherd) campaign, which made national headlines. The University organised legal representation and, just in time, the deportation was put on hold.

“It’s something that I will never forget,” says Shepherd. However, it wasn’t until 2021 that he received confirmation of his ‘permission to remain’ in Ireland.

Despite all the turmoil, Shepherd studied hard, achieving a 2/1 honours degree. “I told myself, I’m not going to give up.”

Now living in Dublin, the degree has given him opportunities to work in the IT field with companies such as Cobalt and SAP, and he has ambitions to gain new professional experiences in areas like cybersecurity.

For Shepherd, it's the friendships and connections made during his DCU experience that stand out the most. “This University took me in its arms like a mother takes care of a child,” he says. “They took me and they said, we are family.”

About University of Sanctuary

Dublin City University was designated a University of Sanctuary in December 2016 in recognition of its commitment to welcome people seeking asylum and refugees into the university community and to foster a culture of inclusion for all.

DCU is the first Irish university to receive this designation, awarded by Places of Sanctuary Ireland, an organisation that supports efforts in Ireland to build a culture of hospitality for people seeking sanctuary. Among a range of initiatives announced by the university, DCU committed to providing scholarships annually to applicants who are currently living in Direct Provision in Ireland, either as International Protection applicants or refugees.