Safe Haven for Rohingya Refugee Children

The Rohingya people have faced decades of systematic discrimination, statelessness and targeted violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar. Such oppression and mistreatment has forced Rohingya women, girls, boys and men into Bangladesh for many years, with significant spikes following violent attacks in 1978, 1991-1992, and again in 2016. The greatest influx of Rohingya people into Bangladesh happened in 2017 when 745,000 Rohingya, including 400,000 children have fled into Cox’s Bazar.

During the displacement of the Rohingya people, it was the children who caught attention of many people. Almost 60% of the refugees were children who had experienced major violence and brutality at a tender age. In their own country they had no legal identity and after displacement to Bangladesh, Rohingya children are not being registered at birth, having no identity or citizenship. It is not known to anyone for how long they will be displaced. Meanwhile, the children are unable to receive formal education which keeps them deprived of the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in future.

With the support of the government and humanitarian partners, refugees have gained access to some basic services. Yet, major dependency remains on short-term aid because of them living in unstable conditions in the congested camps which are hugely difficult and sometimes dangerous during monsoon and cyclone seasons.

JAAGO introduced the Safe Haven project for the psychological and spiritual betterment of the Rohingya children in 2018. The traumatized Rohingya children needed a safe space where they can be engaged in regular childhood social experiences. The concept was to provide learning opportunities for them and heal them emotionally as much as possible. After receiving the GlobalGiving Feedback Fund Grant, JAAGO has been successfully initiating and integrating feedback from 500 Rohingya Children and 1,000 parents.

A Doze of Nutrition Everyday

Since past two years, malnutrition among Rohingya children has been one of the most critical considerations. Long journey across the border and poor living conditions in the camp are thought to be the key cause of malnutrition among Rohingya children. According to UNICEF’s nutrition specialist Joseph Senesie “If the child is not fed well, the child’s brain will not develop well and that will affect their educational consequences and that will affect their productive capacities as they grow up in the future.”

In Cox’s Bazar, there are 85 nutrition centers across the camps. The children receive therapeutic food and they are examined in the cases of severe malnutrition. Although there are fruit and vegetable stands in the camps, but many families can’t afford them because they have no income and depend solely on the aid. Understanding the importance of proper nutrition, JAAGO provides nutritious food every day to the 500 children under the Safe Haven project. The food menu contains proteins, carbohydrates and fruits. During the time of Ramadan, the children also received nutritious snacks during iftar.

Nurturing Creativity and Strengthening their Imagination

Albert Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Imagination is the endless door of possibilities. It is where thinking outside the box begins for child development. Imaginative and creative play is how children learn about the world. They tend to see things from a very different perspective and form pictures in their minds and that is what makes them different. At times, parents and adults nurture children's imaginations and take joy in their creative thoughts and acts. But unfortunately, the Rohingya children have been deprived of many creative joys.

As JAAGO works to provide psychological support to these disadvantaged children, regularly games and art classes are arranged for them. The children often team up together to play both outdoor and indoor games. Games such as “Ludo” are very popular among the kids and the teachers at times accompany them which create a very welcoming impact. These children also get a chance to spread colors on their imaginations very frequently. They are provided with notebooks, colors and other stationaries required and asked to draw and bring their imaginations to the papers. These relaxing activities have a very affirmative impact on the minds of these children.

Going an Extra Mile

Although JAAGO does not provide proper educational support to these Rohingya children under the Safe Haven project but we do give them books and a positive environment to thrive in. It is important to create an environment where they feel they need to develop their knowledge and skills for a better future. Hence, there is no other way to encourage them other than offering them books to read. In the light of this thought, recently some bookshelves were setup in the safe space camps where books for their age were kept. They would feel free to come to the safe space camps an read the books according to their interests.

The infrastructure in the Rohingya camps is temporary and highly congested. There is no proper water and sanitation facilities, they are vulnerable to natural disasters and also do not have adequate supply of electricity. To keep the lights and fans in the safe space camps functioning, new solar panels were setup. These solar panels will be very functional and convenient for the children coming to the camps.

Expressing Gratitude

The quality of being generous and kind is not something that everyone has. With the utmost sincerity we at JAAGO would like to convey our gratefulness to our national and international sponsors, corporate partners and donors. Without their contribution our journey to support these Rohingya refugee children would not have progressed. Thank you for contributing for this humanitarian cause and enlighten these children’s lives!