World Refugee Day: Ex-beauty queen fights for children's education rights

Few people go out on a limb to help others the way Fugee co-founder Deborah Priya Henry is doing.

This former beauty queen could have easily ventured into a more glamorous career but she instead opted to make sure refugee children got an education.

She saw the need for a school for refugee children while working on a documentary on refugees with a friend. She met a Somali refugee family living not far from KLCC and noticed that the children aged 10 to 14 at that time weren’t in school.

The fact that they had no access to education was shocking for Deborah and so she and her university mate Shikeen Halibullah started giving them math and English lessons.

Word got out and more refugee families started sending their children to them. They also roped in Shafie Sharif, a Somali community leader who was also giving private tuition classes for refugees.

In 2009, Deborah and Shikeen co-founded the Fugee School and, with help from Shafie, started giving more refugee children the basic education they needed.

By 2019, Fugee School became not only a learning centre but also a transitional school for refugee children who will eventually (it could take years) get resettled in another country by UNCHR.

Access to education

Fugee School is one of the educational arms under the Fugee (a non-profit organisation) umbrella. They provide access to educational opportunities for refugees in Kuala Lumpur.

According to their website, there are more than 33,000 refugee children in Malaysia.

In an interview with Malaysiakini, Deborah said that just as for every child, Malaysians are sympathetic to the plight of refugee children in Malaysia whose right to education has been denied.

“Although society, which includes our generous donors, is keen to support our cause, when it concerns government and policy - that is a different conversation altogether.

“While we recognise education as a right, it is still a privilege for many in Malaysia and globally. No one benefits from depriving children of their right to go to school, and the conversations surrounding this topic need to shift from one of the scarce resources to Malaysia has enough to be more inclusive.

“It is also important to note that running Fugee School comes at heightened costs. We have 14 staff and 192 students - our school runs two sessions, five days a week.

“Operational and infrastructural costs of running a school are high, so just as with other grassroots NGOs, fundraising comes with its struggles,” she added.

Right to education

Deborah explained that Fugee School started with a simple premise, that all children, regardless of their status and background, have a right to education.

With a small pool of funds, they opened the school to 60 students in a small apartment unit in Gombak in 2009. Now 13 years later, they have educated more than 550 students.

“Funding for refugee initiatives in Malaysia has always been hard, till today we sometimes feel we still have to convince people why any child going to school is important and necessary.

“It shouldn't be the case. Because (refugee) adults are not allowed to work legally, parents cannot support their children’s education, which means Fugee School needs to cover the majority of the costs of running a school.

“It's not a sustainable situation, yet we have operated in this manner for more than a decade. The more Malaysians are made aware of the plight of refugees, in the blink of an eye, we too could become refugees, and can relate a little more to the life of a refugee.

“They become more empathetic and giving. The Russia/Ukraine situation has shown us that it can happen to any one of us,” Deborah stressed.

The pandemic did not make things easy and Deborah said that there was a moment in 2021 when she was concerned that they would have to shut down the school.

“We very quickly had to adapt to online learning - our teachers received basic training at the time and our students were adjusting to distance learning on the go.

“Many marginalised families like these refugee families, living cramped in small spaces, lost their means of income and didn't have enough money to pay for rent, buy groceries and take care of their children.

“We were thankful many donors stepped up and gave generously. We were able to secure 60 tablets, which greatly helped us with the digital shift.”

She pointed out that the pandemic made them aware of how fragile their situation was but also convinced them more than ever before that access to education is the main game-changer for the students.

No child left behind

Currently, Fugee Scholl has a 1:1 ratio of boys and girls in their school.

“Within our community, we encourage girls to go to school and stay in school, we push them to identify their passions and seek them out even after they leave Fugee.

“We have very strong, empowering women teachers who act as role models for our young female students. Because these teachers are married, raising their kids and coming to work, they are breaking down stereotypes within the community,” Deborah said.

“We want all our students to take ownership of their lives and make the right choices for themselves. We support them via access to education and employment opportunities and access to support services.

“So every girl believes she can be whoever she wants to be. The biggest testament is seeing female students graduate from grade nine, they show themselves, the younger students and their community what it means to believe in oneself, to have dreams and be their best,” she added.

Deborah admitted that change does not happen overnight and small wins matter.

“Changed mindsets change mindsets. The community is their biggest champion of change. We see this, especially in youth leaders.”

Students at Fugees School range from children as young as five to as old as 19. The school provides an education syllabus from kindergarten to Grade 9, following a blend of Cambridge and Singaporean syllabuses.

The school has eight teachers and two administrations, some of whom are refugees themselves.

“One of our teachers is currently completing his PhD and teaches Maths to our secondary students on a part-time basis. Our teachers are from Nigeria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan and Palestine,” Deborah said.

“Following Grade 9, we offer GED and IGCSE with partners, followed by the HiEd Scholarship programme which offers scholarships to universities for deserving refugee youth.”

Higher education

In February 2022, Fugee School announced their very first batch of scholars under the Fugee HiEd Scholarship Programme.

“The team has been championing this programme since May 2021. The main objective of the scholarship is to support motivated refugee youths to complete their degree at a university.

“At present, the enrolment of refugees in higher education is very low, with a global rate of just five percent. UNHCR has set a roadmap to increase this to 15 percent by 2030 and our programme was designed with this target. According to UNHCR Malaysia, less than one percent of refugees are enrolled in higher education.

“We successfully raised funds in 2021 to award scholarships to five bright and deserving candidates. Our donors are a mix of corporate partners and in 2022 we have seen great success through our crowdfunding project on GlobalGiving.

“Through this platform, we have attracted over 170 international donors. We aim to meet our target by the end of the year and hope to award 10 more scholarships in the year 2023,” said Deborah, who expressed pride in her students’ achievements.

They are several stories from Fugee School over its 13 years of establishment.

“The most notable ones are seeing young students that come in restrained and explore their identity through their years at school. We had a boy named Yusuf who came to us when he was just seven years old.

“He grew up, like any child having his dreams and ambitions. He was able to make friends, contribute to his society and, above all, receive an education. It’s as simple as this, our greatest success is seeing a child grow through the educational journey.

“Yusuf, upon completing Grade 9 at Fugee School, went on to get resettled to another country where he continues to build a meaningful life for himself. Giving the child the liberty to learn has always been a top priority at Fugee.

“A Fugee School alumni contacted us to volunteer himself to teach our primary students. Having studied at school, he was compelled to give back to his community.

“These students recognise how Fugee has impacted their lives by giving them access to more opportunities and to have a childhood akin to any child. There is no greater gift than the gift of education,” said Deborah.

Misinformation about refugees

While there are caring Malaysians, there are also those who look down on refugees and want them deported.

“It definitely takes an active effort on our part to educate and raise awareness of the refugee crisis in Malaysia. For a myriad of reasons, there is a lot of misinformation about refugees within our society that deter people from integrating and getting involved with the refugee community.

“Over the past two years, our society has undergone situations out of our control that resulted in urgent emergency relief and displacement of our people. When we look at the recent floods and the difficult times during the pandemic, the Malaysian people have rallied together to support the affected communities.

“People saw first-hand the suffering, food shortages and displacement of our people. It was a stark reminder of the impermanence of our material possessions,” Deborah said.

She added that big companies and organisations provided relief aid to communities, including refugees, during this time out of compassion.

Refugee communities themselves were seen providing support to local communities that were affected by the pandemic and floods.

“This gave rise to the Kita Jaga Kita movement, which allowed us to see that our society is not indifferent to the shortcomings refugees have faced in the past couple of years and even in the years prior. There is just a lack of awareness of who these people are and why they are here,” she continued.

However, she said, Fugee as an organisation seeks to question this seemingly negative narrative about the refugees in Malaysia.

“Authoritative voices in the country have used divisive messaging that fuels xenophobia. The fear-mongering and mischaracterisation of refugees are unfounded.

“The best we can do for the children at Fugee School is to provide them with a normal childhood, an education and a support system. Some of them deal with mental health issues and others have to deal with familial responsibilities.

“We also check in with parents to ensure that every child is cared for and supported in whatever way is required. Of course, the kids are aware of their situation and we do our best to answer the questions they have.

“At Fugee School they grow up within a community that provides a safe space and celebrates their individuality and growth,” Deborah said.

This year’s World Refugee Day theme is “seeking safety is a human right”.

“Receiving protection and safety is their human right. Seeking education is an equal human right. Education is a game-changer. These children are the future leaders that will usher in generational change.

“With proper education, these youths will lead and build better lives in their resettlement country or upon returning to their home country.

“Our society needs to go through a shift in mindset. We must step away from the handout mentality and move to hand-ups. Supporting the education of refugees from primary to secondary and later into tertiary education is imperative.”

If you want to support a Fugee child as they make their journey through all stages of education, go to donatefugee. - Mkini