Ensuring meaningful education ​for Rohingya Refugee Children 

Where language creates a barrier to
​education,video lessons bring learning to life.

Through innovative video lessons, Rohingya refugee children are able to access
​meaningful education in a language they can understand. Using simple technology, we can open up a world of experience and learning for children confined to the camps.

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ROHINGYA REFUGEE CRISIS

​Over a million Rohingya refugees live in Bangladesh, unable to return to their homes in Myanmar after fleeing violence and genocide. They are trapped on the border, living in the dire conditions of Kutupalong, the world's largest refugee camp. ​

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BARRIERS TO LEARNING

Children in Kutupalong are required by the government to learn using the Myanmar curriculum. This is in Burmese, a language which few Rohingya people speak or read. ​

As children and teachers cannot understand the approved curriculum in the camps, an entire generation of children are at risk of growing up without learning to read or write; lacking the basic skills needed to lead a healthy, fulfilling life.  ​

FINDING A SOLUTION

In 2019, we launched a pilot project to create visual lessons
that were projected ​in the classrooms of our learning centres in Kutupalong.
Our digital team recorded lessons, using the Burmese textbooks, dubbing them
so that the children and teachers could understand what was being said. ​

“We enjoy the video lesson very much. We want more and more of this video lesson to be shown”.
Achmida Bibi (aged 11)

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When we trialled the new video lessons, the children were speechless. This was the first time any of them had directly received a lesson in their own language and they could finally understand what was being taught.
Child after child asked for more digital lessons.​

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LEARNING THROUGH VIDEO LESSONS

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After the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response to our pilot programme, we rolled out daily video lessons in all our classrooms in Kutupalong, the Doharazi enclaves and the slums of Cox’s Bazar, reaching thousands of children with meaningful, fun education. ​

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“It used to be very difficult for us when we studied in books but I find it very easy when the readings on the screen are shown through big pictures on the projector” 
​ 
Abdul Hefej, age 7

• Digital lessons enable alternative, creative, visual communication of educational content and give the children a chance to genuinely learn.

• The videos combine footage of Rohingya teachers explaining concepts with pictures and cartoons that bring subjects to life and make classes fun. 

• Children tell us that the video lessons are their favourite thing about school. 

 

• Parents and teachers rave about how effective they are, and how much their children have learnt. 

 

• Videos on subjects like health, human rights and culture are also shown to allow the children to see aspects of the world that they didn't previously know existed, giving them a glimpse into life outside the confines of the camps or slums where they live.

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"We don't like books much as they are difficult and time consuming to understand, but we can easily learn things through the videos and remember the visuals. We like the videos more than books!" 

11-year-old Jahan Tara
(Pictured)

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Monitoring and Evalution Officer ​Rebeka Khatum explains the huge impact the digital programme has made in the learning centres.  

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THE EQUIPMENT

When we first piloted the programme content was sent via WhatsApp to teachers’ smartphones to show on solar and battery-powered projectors in our classrooms.

​But in 2021 we switched to loading content onto USB sticks which could be plugged directly into handheld projectors, thereby reducing the dependence on the unreliable mobile data network

The content is produced using simply constructed green screen studios and special effects employed by the digital team in Cox’s Bazar.

They also use dubbed visual media from all around the world to give children experiences of natural wonders, wildlife, culture, ​sports and news.

MOJA KIDS: A BLANK CANVAS FOR CREATIVITY

Children also produce their own weekly video newsletters through their own online platform named 'Moja Kids'. children delight in both creating and watching the Moja Kids productions. ​

“When they see their work on the projector screen, I am amazed to see their bright eyes and how happy they are”.
Zobaida Akhter, teacher

Moja Kids gives children a blank canvas to: 
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• Express themselves, 

 

• Share their talents and ideas,

 

• Bring their imaginations to life,

 

• Talk about the issues that matter to them,

 

• Interact and connect with other children beyond the confines of the camps.

“We see and learn interesting talents, stories and experiences from our friends in other schools. I also want to perform something and participate in the video newsletter”.
Taslima, fourth grade student
​(Doharazi Enclaves)

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 “I participated in the newsletter. It's a golden memory for me. In the Moja kids videos, there is someone like me and she tells her biography, and then I relate it to me. Then I remember my past and feel I am not alone in this world and in this society. ​ Moja kids videos inspire me a lot.” 

​Minara, aged 10, Kutupalong

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With new visual effects and green screen technology in place, the children are able to experience the wider world, piloting spaceships into space, learning with puppets and cartoons, and even hopping on broomsticks to visit their home villages in Myanmar.

  "I felt like a real super hero when I imagine flying back home to Rakhine state. It is my dream. It was amazing to see myself soaring over the ocean and landing right in my own backyard!"
​Mubina

CONNECTING WITH CHILDREN ​IN UGANDA AND INDIA

Moja Kids enables the children to connect with peers from learning centres in India and  Child Rights Clubs in Uganda. These interactions help them learn from each other, tackling subjects such as rights, responsibilities and ways children can look out for one another and stay safe.

NEXT STEPS

Children on the Edge only provide 4% of all the education provision in the camps, but our learning centres are consistently ranked highest by authorities and children. Classrooms have a 96% average attendance rate and teachers continue to describe how children learn and concentrate better with digital lessons, retaining information for longer.

Since 2010, Children on the Edge have set the standard for education delivery for Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh and continue to encourage other agencies to adopt our unique model so that many more Rohingya children can gain a meaningful education.

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

The programme was one of 10 winners in the 2023 iF Design Social Impact Prize.

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At the 2020 AbilityNet Tech4Good awards, our digital education programme in Bangladesh was awarded the Lenovo Education Award, recognising outstanding digital achievement in education, in a field of 400 entries.  

Find out more about our work providing education for Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh. ​

Make a donation to support our work with Rohingya refugee children.

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If you are part of a trust or charitable foundation and would like to find out more about our digital education programme please get in touch.

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