ABSTRACT
This chapter reports on how Jafari, a refugee from Kenya, struggled as a student against institutional and structural barriers as he tried to attain a successful life in Canada. Having failed to reach his initial goal, a university degree, he sought the same goal for his son Jaxon. That Jaxon's educational and career ambitions entailed achieving a university degree shows echoes of his father's knowledge, commitments, and strategies from a generation earlier—valuable resources passed from parents to children. So while Jafari was unable to complete his university program because of the challenges he faced—including resettling in a new country and culture without family, dealing with financial problems resulting in part from his high tuition fees, balancing the demands of full-time school and low-wage full-time jobs, and becoming a parent—he gained social and cultural capital that he was able to pass on to his son. Ultimately, Jafari continued to value his educational experience insofar as it had helped him to develop his knowledge of Canada, learn about and understand his rights, and build important relationships and social networks—including ones exemplified in the Bridging program.
