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HOPE FOR THE ROHINGYA

Education Cannot Wait is partnering with the Government of Bangladesh, UNICEF and key stakeholders to provide an education to Rohingya refugee girls and boys.

By Education Cannot Wait

May 20^th, 2021

Adapted Story from the Field. Special contribution by Nazzina Mohsin and UNICEF Bangladesh (English | বাংলা)

On 25 August 2017, escalating violence triggered an exodus of Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh. Men, women and children brought with them accounts of the unspeakable atrocities.

It was an agonizing journey for those who survived. They walked many miles, crossed mountains, rivers and the bay. For some, the journey took a few days; for others, over a month. Children carried whatever belongings they could grab, but the greatest burdens were pain, fear, exhaustion, starvation and thirst.

17-year-old Sofira attends radio lessons in the Cox's Bazaar refugee camp. Photo: UNICEF Bangladesh/2019/Sujan

For several months, refugees continued to pour into the refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar.

Since their arrival in Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees have grappled with new challenges – fires, floods, landslides, severe storms and the COVID-19 pandemic.

From this tragedy, inspiring tales also started to emerge. There are stories of courage, determination and strength to rebuild lives from scratch in challenging and overcrowded refugee camps.

Taken on 6 September 2017, a Rohingya family from Myanmar makes their way to the Cox's Bazar refugee camp. Photo: UNICEF Bangladesh

Stepping up the global response

Working with the Government of Bangladesh, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNHCR and other partners, Education Cannot Wait announced a new multi-year resilience programme in Bangladesh in 2018. With US$12 million in catalytic seed funding from the UN’s global fund for education in emergencies, the programme is designed to reach half a million refugee children and youth.

Other partners are crowding in resources for the humanitarian response. In this original report on the three-year anniversary of the crisis, UNICEF highlighted the contributions of Canada, Education Cannot Wait, the European Union, France, GAVI, Germany, Global Partnership on Education, Japan, BMZ/KfW Development Bank, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, the United Kingdom, King Abdullah Foundation, CERF, the World Bank, various UNICEF National Committees and individual donors around the world.

Junaid, 12, a student at a UNICEF-supported learning centre, lost his home and all of his belongings in the fire. Photo: UNICEF/UN0431934/Saeed

Locally driven

With support from global funds such as Education Cannot Wait, UN agencies, local NGOs and the Government of Bangladesh, thousands of Rohingya children, youth and women are leading the efforts to get girls and boys back to the safety of learning and find protection, hope and opportunity despite the challenges in front of them.

This is the largest refugee settlement in the world. Recent estimates indicate that over 800,000 Rohingya people are living in exile in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp. Half of them are children.

With funding from ECW and other partners, UNICEF worked to enroll hundreds of thousands of children between 4 to 14 years of age in education programmes to support their learning opportunities and rebuild their lives.

According to the 2020 Joint Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment, 76 per cent of girls and 80 per cent of boys aged 6 to 14 were attending non-government, organization-run learning centers before they were closed in March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A group of Rohingya girls wash their hands at a handwashing station established at their learning centre with UNICEF support. Photo: UNICEF Bangladesh/2020/Himu

COVID-19

In March 2020, the Government of Bangladesh announced the shutdown of all education facilities to curb the risk of the coronavirus spreading in the communities across the country, including the Rohingya refugee camps.

The Education Sector developed guidelines and instructions to support caregiver-led learning at home with support from Rohingya volunteer teachers known as Burmese Language Instructors (BLI). These instructors visited each student every two weeks to raise awareness on COVID-19 and share information on caregiver-led education. They provide support to parents and caregivers to ensure that children are engaged in learning for at least two hours a day. Efforts are also underway to expand ed-tech and remote learning opportunities.

According to the Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment report, 86 per cent of children who were attending learning centers before they were closed are now participating in remote learning.

Sadly, about 14 per cent of refugee households with children enrolled in learning centers before the pandemic plan not to send their children back to learning centers following reopening, citing both the need to support the household and child marriage as key reasons.

Zubair survived a gunshot wound and lost his left leg. A portrait of resilience, he is attending a learning centre and playing football with other children in the refugee camp. Photo: UNICEF Bangladesh/2019/Kiron

Zubair’s story

Zubair is an incredible inspiration – always ready to smile, study and share his love for football. He was only six years old when he was shot while fleeing his village in Myanmar. He was found bleeding and unconscious by the roadside. His wounded left leg had to be amputated to save his life.

As an avid footballer who continues to play with just one leg, he balances with the help of a stick made from bamboo. Zubair has many dreams.

“I want to meet Messi and play football with him!” He also wants to get a good education, “I want to study hard so that one day I can find a job and support my family.”

Zubair is amongst thousands of Rohingya children who survived physical and psychological wounds, but their courage and strength to build a better future could not be destroyed.

Kohinur

“I miss my home in Burma a lot,” says 14-year-old Kohinur who is learning Burmese and English languages alongside handicrafts at a UNICEF-supported center.

“My family owned a two-story farm-house which had some land, livestock and a beautiful balcony,” says Kohinur.

At the center, Kohinur is finding a new purpose in life. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, she was attending the center six days a week. She hopes that one day she can become a tailor and earn a living.

Sadia

Now an eager student in the Rohingya refugee camp, 10-year-old Sadia could not attend school in Myanmar regularly because the conflict made it unsafe. She has suffered severe stress and anxiety since she fled her home and sought safety in Cox’s Bazar in 2017.

Though she is in a better place now after receiving psychosocial support, she misses her home.

“I am really happy that I can continue my education here. I also encourage all my friends in my neighbourhood to attend learning centres. It will help us in the future,” says Sadia.

13-year old Jia lost his father and now supports his family. He proudly makes a spicy betel-leaf wrap in his tiny shop that he set up in the Rohingya refugee camp to support his siblings and ailing mother. Photo: UNICEF Bangladesh/2019/Sujan

Jia

The refugee crisis forced 13-year-old Jia to become the breadwinner for his family, but his dreams for higher education and a better life have not ended. He wants to be a doctor.

“I want to return to Myanmar one day. This is not the way we should be living our lives in a refugee camp,” says Jia.

Jia has set up a small shop in the camp. He lost his father while they were fleeing to Bangladesh through the mountains. “They were shooting us. Then I could not find my father in the mountains. He was possibly killed.”

Jia’s inspiration is his family, particularly his brother with special needs.

“My younger siblings are attending the learning centers, but I have already completed this education in Myanmar and so I need to study at higher levels.”

UNICEF has been advocating for enhanced education opportunities for Rohingya children and adolescents. In January 2020, the Government of Bangladesh granted permission to introduce a Myanmar curriculum pilot initially targeting 10,000 students. This expansion of the education programme will be an opportunity for Jia to return to school and realize his dreams one day.

Education Cannot Wait’s ‘Stories from the Field’ series features the voices of our implementing partners, children, youth and the communities we support. These stories have only been lightly edited to reflect the authentic voice of these frontline partners on the ground. The views expressed in the Stories from the Field series do not necessarily reflect those of Education Cannot Wait, our Secretariat, donors or UN Member States.

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