Dear John,

Bangladesh’s monsoon season is already well underway, bringing great risks for Rohingya refugees living in the southern part of the country. To add to this challenge, climate change is making the severity of rain and floods more severe and increasingly unpredictable, putting refugee’s shelters, possessions and even their lives at risk. But amongst these stories of disaster and devastation, we wanted to share some ways in which Rohingya refugees are themselves making a positive difference in their community.

Combining forces in the classroom

For as long as he can remember, Shah Alum’s dream was to become a teacher. But his education ended abruptly when he was forced to flee his native Myanmar before graduating from high school.

Yet, five years later he is a teaching assistant, leading a class of 40 children, with the support of Minhar Begum, a fellow teaching assistant from the local Bangladeshi community. They’ve been working together for two years now, after receiving training from UNHCR to teach an informal curriculum covering basic literacy and numeracy, as well as some Myanmar language and life skills.

By pairing up Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshis like Shah and Minhar, it not only helps to address a shortage of Rohingya teachers, but also provides jobs for people in the local community too.

Yeasmine had only attended one year of primary school before she and her family fled Myanmar. If she had been able to continue her education, she would have liked to have become a doctor or a teacher, but as a Rohingya refugee living in Bangladesh, she hasn’t had that opportunity.

UNHCR has been working hard to address the gaps in education for older children and young people in Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district. This includes adolescent clubs, where people like Yeasmine are getting the opportunity to learn important life skills, like personal health and hygiene, along with literacy and numeracy.

Yeasmine said: “I like learning life skills because they will help me to know how to bring joy to my life... This is important for me.”

Thanks for reading!

Warm regards,

Breno Valentini
International Supporter Care
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency