By Elizabeth Griffin | Senior Writer
Because of you, Rohingya children are healing from the unspeakable trauma that forced them to leave their homes in Myanmar.
Thank you for giving!
One of these children is 14-year-old Monsur. He told us his story about fleeing from Myanmar:
“People were in the house and they set it on fire. You could hear them screaming. My cousins and I escaped and ran through a field. They were both shot as we ran. My legs gave out so I just kept crawling. From a hill I saw them cut my cousin’s heads off. I wanted to die with them.”
Then, somehow, Monsur found the will to live. He hid with his neighbors until the soldiers had left. Then he and others from his village hiked over mountains and swam across rivers with barely enough food or water to survive. Some of them died along the way. But Monsur and others made it to Bangladesh where they were settled in refugee camps.
Monsur’s life will never be the same. But you gave, and he received the necessities of survival. And as time went on, you kept giving. So now he and others have a chance to heal from the unspeakable trauma they’ve experienced.
Monsur and other children are finding reasons to live because you paid for teachers to educate them, teach them English, train them in job skills like sewing and bicycle repair, and organize sports clubs.
These day-to-day activities are a lifeline to children like Monsur who have lost everything and everyone important to them. Most of them were so afraid and deeply depressed that they spent every day hiding in their makeshift shelters.
Now, because of you, instead of being isolated, they are making friends and becoming teammates. Many tell us that it was only when their "hands were busy" that they were able to begin to heal and enjoy life again.
Thank you for providing safe places for youth to share their trauma and find healing. Thank you for bringing purpose to their lives in practical ways, and giving them a vision for their future. Now they have meaningful activities to fill their days and they want to live.
They are healing, because of you!
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