Yesterday, the Rohingya students at the Bani Street School read their letters from their Kansas pen pals with gusto. They were so excited to respond. But we wanted to make sure that included in their replies was a photo of themselves - just like in the letters they received from their pals. And we thought, I bet these kids don’t have any photos of themselves…let’s make sure they get one of their own, too! So we bought a Polaroid camera and plenty of film. Then we got to work. The kids were mesmerized by the Polaroid! It was almost like magic as their images slowly appeared - and they shrieked with joy once their photos started to take shape. It was important for the Kansas students to see who was writing back to them to connect on a deeper level. Plus, the students at Bani will always have a memento of the fun of today. It's a nice feeling to be seen by others...and to feel your worth in the process. … [Read more...] about A Snapshot

The kids at Bani Street don't have a lot of opportunities to expand their world. But we know that as kids, sometimes that's one of the most important things you can do. Whether it's reading a book about faraway lands or connecting with people from different backgrounds, learning about the world can mean the world to kids. We wanted the kids at Bani to have that experience, too...to let them know that there are kids similar to them, just on the other side of the globe. We connected to a 5th grade teacher in Kansas to see if she might have each of her students write a letter to the kids at Bani Street. She took the idea and ran with it, immersing her students in a learning experience about what Rohingya refugees have been through and what they could do to help. Each student wrote a letter to a friend in the Bani Street program. They also send pictures of themselves and sent them along with the letters. We brought the letters to Bani Street in a special after-school … [Read more...] about Pen Pals

Bani Street is a non-profit school for orphaned street kids. With the influx of Rohingya refugees in the area, they have opened up the school to some especially vulnerable Rohingya refugee children as well. A big part of their activity time is for Taedwondo - it's a controlled sport that allows for release of energy, but also teaches important life lessons. It’s an especially good activity for kids who have grown up in non-disciplined environments - like living on the street. We were so inspired by the work of Bani Street that we wanted to elevate their work. We asked the leadership and the teachers what they thought would help the kids even more... Their idea was to redo the walls in both of the two classrooms. The rooms were looking pretty run down - not exactly a great environment to foster creativity. We hired a local painter to prep the walls for painting, to paint the walls, and to add bright hand prints for an extra splash of color. Both classrooms were looking … [Read more...] about Something Nice

The Cleaning Team has been working hard for quite a while. And they continue to go above and beyond. They’ve been focusing on their work as a way to give back and support their community. But they haven’t had the opportunity to celebrate their work and take a day to just enjoy themselves. We wanted to change that. We rented a bus to pick up the Cleaning Team from their living area in the refugee camp and brought them to a national park for day. We wanted them to have an opportunity to enjoy a day like this, which they haven’t had for at least 9 months. We picked up a stereo for music that included a microphone, so the group could have a little fun on the bus ride. We pre-ordered lunch and waters for the group, which they had picnic style at the park. The result? Rejuvenation. The stereo and microphone were a huge hit. The group was dancing and singing the entire bus ride – they finally were able to let loose and enjoy themselves. Mohib took videos of the … [Read more...] about A Day Off

The Cleaning Team has been working nearly every day for a few hours each day, for months, cleaning the areas in the refugee camp where they live. And they've had great success. So much so that the market area across the road - a non refugee community - was feeling like they could use their services, too. The Team felt like they wanted to help. They expressed their eagerness to do something to give back, especially to the community that has generously given them safe haven. So today was easy - we helped them take action. We rented a large lowry for trash removal, and the Cleaning Team walked with their tools to the market and began cleaning. We planned to only have the team work for a few hours, but there was much more to be done. Instead of just stopping, they offered to continue working the next day to make a larger impact – they wanted to make sure that they made a difference. Once the work was done, the market was in tip top shape. Plus, it was an opportunity to spend … [Read more...] about Clean Up

The Cleaning Team is a group of about 15 Rohingya men who were hired to clean the area of the camp where they live. It's a job they take pride and find purpose in. People look up to them as leaders in their community. But while they've banded together through this work, they don’t have any type of visible connections that show who they are and what they do. So we asked them what type of items they'd want to wear to help unify and identify them. Their answer? Arsenal jerseys. The soccer team is so popular that it wasn’t too difficult to find some Arsenal jerseys sold at the local market! The Cleaning Team members have earned trust in the community – what we realized is that the visibility of the team members allowed others to seek help as needed. They were so happy to get their jerseys. They were eager to put them on and pose for photos! The jerseys allowed for recognition of their consistent and reliable work, but they were also a visible reminder to others - … [Read more...] about A Team Effort

There are so many young adult Rohingya who were on the path to being successful. But then the unthinkable happened. They lost the vision of what they thought their life would be. And access to education is a huge part of that. Young people are finding themselves in a difficult spot. They want to move forward, but just simply don't have the resources to continue their learning journey. Our young friend Zubair told us that he wanted to learn English. When we asked him why, he said “English is the world’s favorite subject.” We decided that given Zubair's interest in learning English, we would give him all of the books that some of our generous supporters had generously given - about 50. He'll be the caretaker of the books for the entire community. Zubair was incredibly happy to have the books! He was so overcome with emotion that he wasn't breathing properly at first! The younger kids looked on eager to eventually get a chance to flip through the books themselves. We … [Read more...] about Books for Zubair

The Social Circus is a pretty cool group. Originally from Afghanistan, they've worked in places like Syria and Lebanon, treating refugee kids to a bit of fun. It's all about young people teaching and sharing activities that spark laughter and smiles, but the sessions are also educational - they teach useful things about health, hygiene, and other issues that are top of mind. The Social Circus was going to be in town, so we wondered if they could visit the Gundum community we've been spending time with. We asked...and they immediately said yes! The young people of the Social Circus really enjoy doing this – they're not only providing a fun experience for kids, but an education that can help them stay healthy and improve their well-being. And the kids in Gundum LOVED it. The crew brought everything they needed with them - props, juggling balls, and mats. And because of the bright colored objects and t-shirts all of the youth were wearing, it drew quite a crowd. … [Read more...] about Smiles All Around

Social gatherings are such an important aspect of Rohingyan culture. Yet in a refugee camp, after having fled so much tragedy, there aren't many things to celebrate or positive reasons to gather. Especially for women. We wanted to provide an opportunity for women from the community to come together and enjoy a social gathering, to usher some joy back into their lives. It was simple - just some tea, a shared meal, and a little fun. It was a community effort to pull it all together. Everybody pitched in to put up tarp around an existing communal space so there was some privacy. We bought a hot lunch for each of the women. After the meal, we brought in some henna and makeup artists, turned up the music, and made sure there was plenty of space for everyone to sit and talk. At first, the women were shy and quiet. But after some time in the private space, they opened up and enjoyed getting henna and talking to one another. It was clear they wanted the social activities to … [Read more...] about Tea Time

Tea is such an important part of Rohingya culture. But because Rohingya communities have been uprooted from their lives, they don't have the means or ability to get it. We wanted to bring back a little bit of normalcy and tradition, to help them feel some comfort during tough times. So we set about getting one gift bag for one woman in each household in one community – filled with tea! We got everything these women would need to make and have tea – sugar, milk, and a cup. And all of it went into a shoulder bag, hoping it would be useful to the women moving forward as well. "I used to drink tea, so this is very important," said Jushna, a member of the community. "Before I drank tea everyday," said Amina, another neighbor. "I like this gift very much." We wanted to show some love and support to everyone in this community. To give a small moment of comfort, a reminder of home, as they work to regain stability and get back on their feet. … [Read more...] about A Cup of Tea