homeland, gave up everything, and risked their lives to come to Malaysia in
hopes of a new future. Most families are patiently waiting for registration,
and the most have a desire to move to the United States as soon as possible.
For some, this wait is short. For most, it takes years or sadly never happens.
In the meantime, these refugees are not acknowledged by the Malaysian
government, which means the children are not allowed to attend public
school.
the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR. The organization protects and assists refugees
with their registration/documentation process. The UNHCR also supports welfare
needs, such as education, but barely enough to make a difference. In order for
children to learn, the Burmese community must establish and fund its own schools.
I have had the pleasure of
volunteering as an English teacher for these Burmese refugee communities in Malaysia.
I rotate between 3 very different schools:
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Educatioin Center
is located amongst the Kuala Lumpur business district, in between a restaurant
and apartment complex, and up 1 flight of steps. There are around 75 students
in three different classrooms. The floors are a bright green color throughout,
and the pastor’s family lives in a room off of the common area. This school has
a lot of donated books and supplies. They are very blessed.
I didn’t know where to stand because the kids were facing all different
directions. There was a teacher in there and when I asked her which side and
board I should teach from, she replied, “either one”. What?! Haha it was
actually 2 classes. They had half the kids face one way and half the kids face
the other way. Talk about resourceful… and chaotic.
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School 2 – Immanuel
Education Center
This school has quite the Cinderella story. It was established
just a few short weeks ago. The community came together, leased a 2nd
floor space and created a combination church/school location. My team actually got
to help with the remodel efforts. The pastor is the Head, and there are 4
volunteer teachers, including the pastor’s 70 year old father.
The community is really coming together to get this
school started. The kids range from 5-13 year, all in one giant room. They have
little to no resources. For some division, they have age groups split into four
tables, each with a whiteboard. As of right now, everyone has a notebook, and
there is one box of colored pencils for everyone to share.
The teaching I am involved with at this school is mainly
for the teachers themselves. They need direction on how to present English material.
This is really a whole community coming together and MAKING education work. The
children are eager to learn, full of joy, respectful, and understanding.
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School 3 – Apt. E113
This school IS the third floor apartment E113 of a low
income housing, Burmese community
Apartments are usually cramped spaces, at least all of
mine have been. Now imagine squeezing 40+ children in one every day. This
school is for all of the children able to attend from the housing community. It
is run by a pastor and funded by the parents and government grants.
Shoes are left at the doorway, the floor is the seat,
desks are benches,, and the kitchen is the cafeteria where afternoon tea is
prepared. The kids range from age 3-13, and being in the same room makes
teaching extremely challenging.
There are volunteer teachers, and the older kids help the
younger ones. These children don’t have much of a social life outside of their
neighborhood, and this apartment is used as the meeting grounds for the youth.
As a guest teacher, they respect everything I have to say, and show respect by
standing and folding their arms. These kids have high hopes of going to
America, and really look forward to meeting every day.
Americans
are blessed with freedom to learn. In Malaysia, there are communities
struggling to survive and still prioritizing education. Kids literally cram into
rooms to learn. They don’t have state of the art technology. They aren’t faking sick or skipping class; They proudly sport
their UNHCR backpacks and have pure joy in learning. How do I know? I’m their
teacher.
