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Photo and story by Rohingya refugee, Rohim Ullah

Inside the Rohingya Refugee Camps, Education Is Being Kept Alive by the Children Themselves

In a cramped tarpaulin shelter in the Rohingya refugee camp of Cox’s Bazar, a group of children gathered together on the bare ground. There are no whiteboards, no floor mats, no electricity. With only handwritten notes and borrowed books, they are teaching themselves.

These children are not waiting for perfect conditions. They are learning with whatever they can find because they want a future. Despite the trauma of displacement, they continue to dream, to study, and to hope.

Their determination comes at a time of deep crisis. Recently, UNICEF was forced to shut down many of learning centers in the Rohingya camps due to critical funding. Rohingya refugee children have now been left without access to structured education.

In the face of this void, community-based learning centers have become essential. Run by community teachers, in makeshift spaces, these centers are doing what they can to keep the light of education burning. But they are also not in good condition. Lacking formal support, resources, and recognition, these community schools are struggling to survive.

This photo captures more than a class. It captures resilience, hope, and the belief that education is a right.

If you’d like to help, donate to UNICEF at https://secure.unicef.ca/page/150275/donate/1