Project location

In the Rohingya displacement camps in Bangladesh, Ukhiya Upazila, Cox’s Bazar District.

Schulbuch

Project content

Rohingya girls without access to formal education are taught by Rohingya girls with an educational background.

Helfende Hände

Project objective

Rohingya girls receive a basic education – and with it, hope for a better future.



Project overview

Girls teach girls

Thousands of Rohingya children in the refugee camps of Bangladesh have no access to education – and girls are particularly disadvantaged. Strict gender norms and safety concerns prevent many of them from attending school or even leaving their shelters unaccompanied. This often results in isolation and early marriage.

Since 2019, our Peer Education Programme (PEP) has offered an effective and culturally sensitive solution: girls enrolled in learning centres (school-like facilities) teach four other girls who don’t attend school, in a safe environment. Since the start of the programme, thousands of girls have completed it and transitioned into formal education.

Notably, this project goes beyond education. Community teachers and supervisors ensure quality and consistency, while parents and local stakeholders are actively involved and made aware of the importance of equal opportunities for girls.

Our Peer Education Programme was developed to bring learning directly to those girls who are not allowed to attend school. Girls teach girls in their homes. This project has been a success since 2019, and is one we are very proud of.

Adam Cianciara | Head Program Partnerships
Adam Cianciara Head Foundations, Major Donors & Legacies

The project in detail

Background
Project content
Results
Objectives
Contact

Background

One million Rohingya refugees

More than one million Rohingya refugees currently live in overcrowded camps near Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. Half of them are children. While the camps do have school-like facilities, almost half of all children have no access to education. For adolescent Rohingya girls, the barriers are even greater. Strict gender norms, coupled with deep-rooted safety concerns, mean that many girls experience a drastic loss of freedom as soon as they reach puberty. Their mobility is highly restricted – many of them are not allowed to leave home unaccompanied or attend school.

  • In the areas targeted by our project, only 15 percent of teenage girls are still in school.
  • Across all the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, just 8 percent of girls aged 15 to 18 have access to any form of education.
  • A lack of education, low literacy and limited social contact leave many girls isolated. With a lack of any alternatives, many of these girls are pushed into early marriage.

Across all the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar, just 8 percent of girls aged 15 to 18 have access to any form of education. With no prospects, many of these girls are pushed into early marriage.

Project content

Bringing learning to the girls

Our peer education program was developed in collaboration with our long-standing, trusted local partner organization, the Jagorani Chakra Foundation, to bring learning directly to those girls who are not allowed to attend school. The following project structure is key to its success:

Icon Frau

Peer facilitators Adolescent girls aged 14 and above who are already attending learning centres are trained as peer facilitators. Guided by community teachers and Save the Children education specialists, these peer facilitators deliver lessons in basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills.

Icon Mitarbeiterengagement

Peer learners Each peer facilitator is paired with a group of three to four peer learners (aged between 11 and 17).

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Learning environment The sessions take place in the home of one of the girls, often in the presence of a mother, to provide a safe, culturally appropriate and girl-friendly learning environment.

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Quality and consistency This project goes beyond education. Community teachers and supervisors ensure quality and consistency, while parents and local stakeholders are actively involved and made aware of the importance of equal opportunities for girls.

Results

What we have already achieved

  • Approximately 40% of peer learners who participated in phases 1 and 2 were able to continue their education and enroll in learning institutions after completing the project.
  • This figure is even higher when looking at phase 2 alone. After completing the learning cycle, 69% of peer learners enrolled in various learning facilities, multipurpose centers, and vocational training centers available in the camps.
  • Before the project, 86 percent of the girls could neither read nor write. After completing the project, 76 percent could write individual words and 16 percent could write full sentences.
  • Numeracy also improved significantly. Before the project, only 23 percent of the girls were able to write at least 10 numbers. By the end, 99 percent of the participants could do so.
  • Long-term impact: 111 graduates of the project who reached the age of 18 during or after the programme have gone on to work as teachers in informal settings or taken up other jobs in the camp.
No fewer than
2760

Rohingya girls have already successfully completed the peer education learning cycle.

Before the project, 86 percent of the girls could neither read nor write. After completing the project, 76 percent could write individual words and 16 percent could write full sentences.

Approximately 40% of peer learners who participated in phases 1 and 2 were able to continue their education and enroll in learning institutions after completing the project

Numeracy also improved significantly. Before the project, only 23 percent of the girls were able to write at least 10 numbers. By the end, 99 percent of the participants could do so.

Girls during a peer education session accompanied by a teacher. The home of one of the girls was decorated by the girls and their family to resemble the local classroom.

• In addition, all participants showed a high level of commitment to the project, with an attendance rate of almost 99 percent.

Before the project, only 25 percent of the girls were able to identify at least five missing numbers. By the end of the project, all the girls knew how to do this.

Objectives

What we still want to achieve

Building on the success of the previous phases of the Peer Education Programme, we want to extend the project by a further 28 months and enrol new cohorts of Rohingya girls who currently aren’t attending school. The project is aimed at participants from blocks 4, 13 and 18 of the camps in Ukhiya Upazila, Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh. The target groups are 2,400 Rohingya girls (aged 11 to 17) with no access to formal education (peer learners) and 600 adolescent girls (aged 14 to 17) attending learning centres (peer facilitators). Furthermore, the plan is for 2,400 parents to take part in parent sessions, and for 20 local teachers (educational supervisors) to be trained.

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