"To be here and to help children is a great success after we have lost everything" - Over 50 Learning Centres open their doors for Rohingya refugee children

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Since our initial humanitarian response, over the last few months Children on the Edge have been supporting the establishment of over 50 Learning Centres in the Kutupalong Balukhali refugee camp.

Having fled brutal ethnic cleansing by the Myanmar army, children are not only traumatised, but cut off from services, and vulnerable to exploitation and disease.

To ensure consistent support, we are in the process of building 75 Learning Centres, based on our eight years experience of providing education in the original Kutupalong camp. 50 of these are already open, providing education in a safe space for 5,000 children.

Each Centre is a bright, colourful, environment with flowers and shrubs planted outside to begin to create an oasis feel within the arid landscape of the camp. Over 60% of our teachers are trained from within the Rohingya community, providing familiarity for the children. They have focussed on creating a safe, welcoming space, with consistent care and kindness.

Minura has been teaching with us for a few months, and tutored in Myanmar before the attacks forced her to flee. She says “I make the Centre fun by being like a mother to these children. Sometimes they are homesick or sad and I try to comfort them. I have also lost so much when I came to Bangladesh. I know they just need a place to play and be kids”.

This high level of care is already making a difference to the children. Saleha, a newly trained teacher says, “The children smile a lot more than they did one month ago. I learned that attitude is very important in teaching. I must have a good mood so the children will also”.

After generations of being marginalised, Rohingya children have little expectation of the rights they deserve, no education for the future and are ill equipped to survive the daily challenges of their environment.

​We are using a high quality curriculum, approved by the Bangladesh Government, covering literacy, writing, maths and science. Children will take standard exams to prepare them for entry into the mainstream system, should government policy allow this in the future.

Mohammed has a daughter at one of our Centres, he says “If she can get an education, she can choose life outside of the camp. I don’t want her to live the rest of her life here, but if she does not study, she will have no choice”. 

The curriculum has been augmented to include elements of creativity, child rights and basic health. In the last months the children have had lessons on washing hands, using the toilet and brushing teeth. Posters in different languages illustrate health and hygiene tips and teacher Minura says “The children are cleaner and healthier now that they come to the Centre. We take time to wash our faces, hands and feet and we talk a lot about the importance of good hygiene”. 

Students are encouraged to express themselves through song, dance and drama and play. Kushi, a teacher from the local community says “I try to make everything we do a game. If I only talk to the students they don’t listen, so all our activities are made into games”. Children also learn about their rights and share their views through ‘Child Councils’ who will be producing their own newsletter.

The Centres have made a huge difference to children in the short time they have been open. They describe how happy they are to attend and how much they are learning. Teaching opportunities also have a positive impact for Rohingya teachers.

​Nurthza who arrived seven months ago, lost her husband in the attacks. She says, “I have two children and no husband now, so this job allows us to live. If I did not have this job, I don’t know what we would do, I really don’t know. In nine months, my life has changed so much. I have left everything behind. We all have. To be here and to help children is a great success after we have lost everything”.

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Watch this space for more news from the Centres. New classrooms are being built every day and we are progressing well in our aim to provide education for 7,500 children in the camp.

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