Children on the Move: Dr. Doris Kakuru on Listening to Young Refugees

1. What motivated you to focus on the post-arrival experiences of young refugees in Ottawa?

Previous research shows that the experiences of young refugees after arrival have a major impact on their well-being and integration. Yet their voices are often missing. Too often, their perspectives are filtered through parents or caregivers, which reduces them to ‘baggage’ rather than acknowledging them as knowledgeable individuals.

Our research will involve engaging young refugees aged 10 to 18 in Ottawa as co-researchers. It is particularly urgent, as nearly 1 in 200 children is a refugee, and approximately 47% of refugees are children (UNICEF, 2024). In Canada, there are very few studies that focus on the voices of these young people.

2. How does this project amplify young people’s voices?

We are engaging children not simply as participants but as co-researchers. Young refugees will nominate their peers to serve as Youth Peer Researchers (YPRs). These YPRs will work alongside adults to co-design research tools, collect and analyse data and share the findings. This approach recognizes young people as experts in their own lives and ensures their perspectives shape every stage of the project.

3. Many students may not know what “children’s geographies” means. Can you explain why this field matters?

Children's geographies is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the lives of children and young people from birth to age twenty-four. It recognizes childhood as a social construction and acknowledges children as active agents with valuable perspectives that deserve to be heard in research and decision-making processes.

This field emphasizes the significance of space and place in shaping children's experiences, encompassing various contexts such as homes, schools, streets, digital platforms, communities and borders. It also explores how power dynamics, including factors like age, race, class, gender, sexuality, dis/ability, ethnicity and immigration status, intersect to shape children's spatial experiences. It centres young people’s voices through approaches like participatory mapping and visual or creative methods.

This field matters for social justice and child protection because it links spatial arrangements to safety, care, and rights, informing child-friendly policies, schools, services, and communities that are responsive to children’s situated knowledge.

4. What does community-based participatory research look like in practice?

In simple terms, community-based participatory research is a collaborative process that equitably involves community members, organisations and researchers throughout the project.

In this study, young people and community stakeholders will co-implement the research. We are also establishing a steering committee that includes representatives from refugee-serving organisations in Ottawa, along with parents and caregivers. This approach ensures that the research reflects lived realities and builds shared ownership.

5. How might re-centring children’s voices transform policies and services?

When we re-centre children’s voices, policy and service design shift from adult-led to collaborative. It allows us to redefine needs based on what children identify as important, and to direct resources where and when they say they need them.

6. What misconceptions does your research challenge about refugee children and youth?

Our study challenges the idea that refugee children’s views are merely extensions of their parents’ opinions. Children have their own perspectives, priorities and strategies for navigating resettlement, and these deserve equal attention in research, policy and programming.

7. How does an interdisciplinary approach strengthen your work and its community impact?

My interdisciplinary approach integrates perspectives and methods from multiple fields. In this project, for example, I’m collaborating with Dr. Shemine Gulamhusein from UVic, Dr. Julie Tchoukou from the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law and Dr. Nimo Bokore from Carleton University’s School of Social Work.

This collaboration enriches the research process and ensures that our findings are relevant and applicable to real-world challenges. Working closely with community partners also builds trust and ensures that local voices are heard. Furthermore, engaging with community members in the research process fosters trust and ensures that their voices are included. This interdisciplinary framework not only broadens the scope of our research but also elevates its relevance and effectiveness in creating positive change within the community.

8. What role can university students play in supporting refugee youth?

University students have a vital opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of refugee youth through research, volunteering or advocacy. Engaging in community-based research helps students understand complex issues firsthand. Volunteering with local organisations provides direct support to youth and families, while advocacy can amplify young refugees’ voices in public conversations.

9. Looking ahead, what impact do you hope this project will have?

Like any ethically grounded, community-engaged project, we hope to leave children with lasting gains in voice, skills, creative and analytic literacies and concrete pathways to influence the services that affect them.

The project will generate first-person evidence and youth-authored recommendations to help partners redesign settlement, education and mental-health supports. We will also host a knowledge-exchange summit and develop toolkits, training modules and policy briefs for community agencies and policymakers.