Living in refugee camps with lack of facilities does not reduce the enthusiasm of Rohingya children to study, according to a statement from the Indonesian Embassy in Dhaka received by Antara here, Sunday.
Without school uniforms and footwear, Rohingya refugee children are enthusiastic in studying at an emergency school located at the Indonesian Humanitarian Alliance (IHA) field hospital complex in the 15 Jamtoli refugee camp at Cox`s Bazar.
The class rooms are grounded and the walls are made of bamboo woven.
The Field Hospital Indonesia was built by the IHA which is a combination of 11 Indonesian humanitarian institutions. Initially, the hospital which was inaugurated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only provided health services.
However, after noticing the refugee children`s need of education, the IHA complex has since 2018 also provided access to education even though it is still on a small scale.
In a 5x7-meter bamboo building on a ground floor, learning activities for Rohingya refugee children are carried out by a substitute non-professional teacher who is also a refugee.
Some learning materials including mathematics, English, and the Myanmarese language are provided by the instructor in teaching and learning activities. Not only those two languages, the teacher named Jahangir also taught some Indonesian vocabularies to his students.
In fact, most of the Rohingya refugee children in the 15 Jamtoli refugee camp at Cox`s Bazar can understand basic conversation and are able to count in Indonesian because they often interact with Indonesian volunteers.
The teaching and learning facilities at the IHA humanitarian aid complex are very simple. In the classroom there is only one blackboard and several tables and chairs.
In addition, in the rainy season, children have to struggle to get to school with slippery and muddy roads. However, this does not stop their determination to get education.
Based on data collected by UNICEF, the number of Rohingya refugee children on Cox`s Bazar until September 2018 is around 350,000. Therefore, giving access to education is a very important agenda.
According to the records of the Indonesian Embassy in Dhaka, the amount of Indonesian humanitarian assistance provided through the IHA has reached around Rp18 billion.
This amount includes humanitarian assistance for building refugee camps, sending medical personnel, providing emergency clinics, mobile clinics and ambulances as well as giving food and education assistance, and setting up worship facilities.
Reporting by Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Editing by Libertina WA
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
