Learning, playing and dreaming in the world’s largest refugee settlement

It’s morning. Two little girls crouch down on the ground, playing with brightly colored marbles. They shout with delight whenever they hit one. When their teacher walks by, they scramble to their feet, racing each other to the school’s entrance.

The winner is Sabika. She never wants to be late for English, it’s her favorite class.

Every day across the U.S., children like Sabika enjoy these playground moments. But this 10-year-old doesn’t live in California, Ohio or Georgia. For her, home is the world’s largest refugee settlement in Bangladesh. Sabika and her family are Rohingya, a historically persecuted ethnic minority. When violence erupted in their home country of Myanmar in 2017, they were forced to flee for their lives.

“I like school because I can learn a lot of things like poems and the alphabet, and I can play.”

Today, Sabika can move around freely and safely to visit friends. Her school isn’t far from the shelter she shares with her parents and four siblings. Despite the trauma she’s endured, Sabika brims with enthusiasm. “I like school because I can learn a lot of things like poems and the alphabet, and I can play,” she explains.

Generous Americans, through their support of USA for UNHCR, helped provide Sabika that sense of safety, a semblance of normalcy and access to education. With those precious gifts, Sabika can dream of a brighter future. “One day I want to be a doctor, because I want to help people,” she said.

“From the first time I saw the Rohingya refugee crisis on TV, I knew it was important to work with Rohingya children.”

Compassionate Bangladeshis are also helping Sabika, including her teacher, Taslima Akthar, who taught fifth grade at a local school before learning about the need for teachers at the refugee camp. “From the first time I saw the Rohingya refugee crisis on TV, I knew it was important to work with Rohingya children,” says Taslima. “I’m really happy to be here.”

Providing refugee children with access to education is essential to securing their futures. It is especially important for girls like Sabika, who are more likely to be denied the chance to go to school.

“Sabika is talented, she comes every day and does very well,” says Taslima. She sees no reason why Sabika’s dreams can’t come true.

On March 8, International Women’s Day, we pay tribute to the strength and resilience of displaced women and girls like Sabika. With generous donor support, the UN Refugee Agency will continue to create a safer more equitable world for all. That includes making sure that Sabika can learn, play and dream.

Here’s how you can help...

On International Women’s Day and every day, the best way to ensure that girls like Sabika can go to school is to become USA for UNHCR’s newest monthly donor. Join this compassionate group of Americans — and show the world how much you care for our world’s most vulnerable children, women and men. Make your first generous gift today.