Do all refugees access education? Refugees are people like others though they are considered indigenous due to the fact that they are not in their countries to get right to everything. As of 31 December 2018, Rwanda accommodated around 69,423 Burundian refugees (Refer to this link to know more about the plan for these refugees). Some of them are in Mahama Refugee Camp in Eastern Province of Rwanda, and others are Urban Refugees.
Since their arrival to Mahama Refugee Camp, UNHCR, ADRA Rwanda and other organizations who are operating in that camp tried to do their best to make sure that people who left their homeland with the status of students can continue doing so. In 2016, both boys and girls were allowed to join one school called Groupe Scolaire Paysannat L in the same province.
It was not easy for those Burundian students to get familiar with the system as their most used language was French and Rwanda uses English in the learning system. However, as time goes on, they find themselves learning like others (In case you want to know how they tried that, visit this site). Back in 2017, around 19,000 Burundian students had been integrated into the Rwandan national system (get info here), but the problem is that only the secondary education is provided for them. Once they are done, they try to look for another support from outside of UNHCR.
Life of Refugees after their Graduation
As mentioned in the introductory paragraph, Burundian Refugee Students are only allowed to access their secondary level of education unless they get some scholarship from other people. This never hinders their performance either in their secondary school or at their universities for those who manage to get the chance of attending it. Once they are done with their studies, some of them get out of the camp to see if they can get what to do to help them in their primary needs. Some of them look everywhere to see if they can get a job. For those who get a chance to be hired, they perform well at the job as it is testified by one of the person that I talked to who did not want his name or his picture to be shown up.
Contribution of Some Organizations for Refugees’ Education
Starting at the primary to secondary level, children get support from Adra Rwanda. This organization support students in provision school materials to be used though they are not sufficient for them. Not only this, but it also helps them to get lunch and breakfast.
Apart from that organization, they are other organizations like Maison Shalom Rwanda, DAFI, Kepler University that participate into giving students who are done with their secondary school access tertiary education. So far, Kepler admitted around 30Burundian students including the author of this article. This is not a big number as they are many other students who still waiting to see any support to enable them attend tertiary education. Maybe students would get a chance, but the problem is that some universities do provide loans to their students which most of the time eliminate refugee students as they cannot be given loans due to the fact that they cannot get money to pay back. As of now, students keep on applying in different universities but still the chance of being taken are at a law level as those universities have first to look for donors who can pay for those refugees.
Overall, refugee children have lost their homes but we cannot allow them lose their future. Therefore, refugees need practical and fast paths to integrate into new societies. This then begins with quality education. Though this is not considered as only one fundamental right, but it is one of the most valuable assets that refugees can have. So, do kindly advocate for refugees whenever you are so that you can help them fulfil their dreams. Education is a basic human right, and without the chance to study, we risk losing an entire generation of children when the solution is in our hands. Go and help refugees!