top marks for the bhutanese refugee education program

TOP MARKS FOR THE BHUTANESE REFUGEE

EDUCATION PROGRAM (BREP)

Jesuit Refugee Service2015

Credits

Photographers:Peter Balleis SJ, John Mezsia SJ, Sara Pettinella, all for JRS.

Design:Stefano Maero

Publisher:JRS South AsiaC/O Indian Social Institute10 Industrial Area, Lodhi RoadN. Delhi – 110003Indiahttp://jrssa.org/

Foreword

Part 1 – INTRODUCTORY OVERVIEWThe history of the Bhutanese refugeesThe hope of educationThe beginnings of BREPMaking hope a realityReaping the advantages of a good educationSincere appreciationMeeting challenges head onWhy and how we wrote this bookletWhat’s in a name?

Part 2 – THE STRENGTHS OF BREPWe accompany – the way of being that made the program what it isAn equal partnership – Caritas/JRS and the refugees run BREP togetherA desire to serve – the high motivation and commitment of the teachersGoing an extra mile – fi nding sponsorship for higher educationGuidance that enriches us all – resource teachersLearning to teach – regular workshopsA relevant curriculum – a tailored choice of subjectsEqual educational opportunities for all – inclusive educationLooking after vulnerable students – counsellingLearning without fear – discipline without violenceBrother, sister, friend – the Mentor-Mentee ProgramStarting from the beginning – the child play centresFlexibility – we never said, ‘this is our system’Over and above

A chance to shine – Youth-Friendly CentresCreating safe spaces – the Disability ProgramVocational training – a path to self-reliance

3

5 6 7 8 9 11 13 15 17 18

19 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 39 41 42 45 45 48 51

Table of ContentsTable of Contents

2 | Jesuit Refugee Service

Top marks for BREP | 3

ForewordWhen PS Amalraj SJ, former director of JRS in Nepal, came up with the idea of recording the history of the Bhutanese Refugee Education Program (BREP), it was unanimously approved. As you go through this booklet, it will soon become clear why it made perfect sense to say “yes” – because BREP is considered to be one of the best education programs ever off ered in a refugee camp anywhere in the world.

In Learning for a Future: Refugee Education in Developing Countries (UNHCR, 2001), Timothy Brown advises managers of refugee education programs throughout the world to learn from BREP in their eff orts to fi nd aff ordable and economical solutions for improving the quality of refugee education in their own localities.

As you will see, there are many factors that contributed to the admirable standards that BREP personnel managed to create and maintain over more than 20 years. I will mention just two: the steadfast determination of the refugees, especially the teachers and pupils, to promote quality education; and the way that the JRS team and the refugees worked together in a spirit characterised by equality, commitment and professionalism.

JRS has been involved in BREP in eastern Nepal since the beginning, in the early 90s, when expatriate expert volunteers were called in to support

Caritas, the implementing partner of UNHCR for education in the Bhutanese refugee camps. JRS eventually began to run the program on behalf of Caritas.

If I were to choose the one factor that impresses me most in the BREP success story, it would probably be the way that the JRS team faithfully accompanied the refugees. Beyond working with the refugee staff to achieve highly professional standards of organisational and pedagogical excellence, JRS displayed a steadfast loyalty and compassionate solidarity that went far beyond the call of duty.

The Jesuits, sisters and lay people working for JRS journeyed with the Bhutanese refugees, step by step, in their daily struggle to seek a durable solution for their collective future. At fi rst JRS vigorously supported the refugees in their poignant eff orts to return home and, when it became clear that this was impossible, they tentatively proposed feasible plans for large-scale third-country resettlement – which is the solution that fi nally came to pass.

It is no exaggeration to describe the accompaniment of JRS as a “covenant”, a partnership that has faithfully endured throughout their long years of exile, a constant reminder that God is present in human history, even its most tragic situations.


Foreword

The suggestion of PS Amalraj to have a written memory of BREP is the fruit of this close presence amidst the refugees. One of the reasons we are publishing this booklet is to give thanks to everyone who contributed to the evolution of BREP over the years, to each and every refugee, Nepalese and international volunteer who lent their expertise, experience, creativity and dedication to the cause of Bhutanese refugee education.

No tribute to BREP would be complete without mention of Monsignor Anthony Sharma, former Apostolic Vicar of Nepal and founding (and current) President of Caritas Nepal, who fi rst suggested that JRS partner with Caritas to implement the education program for the refugees. Also playing a key role alongside Mgr Sharma was the fi rst director of Caritas Nepal, the late Mr Ashish Gurung. Nor can we omit to mention PS Amalraj SJ and Varkey Perekkatt SJ, who served as directors of BREP and were wholeheartedly dedicated to the cause of the Bhutanese.

But we are not publishing this booklet for mere sentimental reasons. We believe that education and sharing knowledge are vital to keeping hope alive in refugees. In over 20 years since it has been running, BREP has developed a series of best practices, arising from lessons learned as the team sought to tackle the many challenges that inevitably arise when implementing refugee education programs. Through this publication we would like to document the accomplishments of BREP and to make the best practices and lessons learned accessible to all camp-based education programs.

A special word of thanks to Danielle Vella (JRS International publications coordinator), who has worked diligently to write the publication of Top Marks for the Bhutanese Refugee Education Program (BREP), ably assisted by John Mezsia SJ (JRS South Asia communications offi cer), and Rituraj Sapkota (assistant director, Xavier Institute of Communications) in the fi eld study and interviews. Our sincere thanks to Sr Lourdu Mary Thumma (JRS Nepal director), BREP staff and everyone who has contributed, directly or indirectly, to the information presented here.

It is my earnest hope that this booklet truly serves, as Danielle wishes, “both as a tribute to BREP and an inspiration for those who are running schools in refugee camps across the world”.

Stan Fernandes SJ,JRS South Asia director


Introductory overview

Part 1INTRODUCTORY OVERVIEW

“The history of JRS involvement in Nepal is a picture of varied hues and shades. We see a long line of men and women who gave themselves in service to the refugees. Though the abilities and talents of these people vary in kind and extent, all were put to one purpose, namely, the service of the refugees.”

PS Amalraj SJ, former BREP director

ThThe e BRBRREP director, SrSr LLouourdu Mary

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chchilild d plplayay ccenentrt e.



The history of the Bhutanese refugees

An estimated 100,000 southern Bhutanese of Nepalese origin, known as Lhotshampas, left Bhutan in the early nineties. Their fl ight was the result of a “one nation, one people” campaign by the Bhutanese government, which enacted discriminatory laws that stripped many Lhotshampas of their citizenship. Life became unbearable for the ethnic

Nepalese minority. Their culture came under attack. Schools in the south were closed. Homes were destroyed. Protests were met by tough security crackdowns. Many fl ed the country, tens of thousands were forcibly removed by the army while others were forced to sign so-called voluntary migration forms.

Most of the Bhutanese refugees ended up at the bank of the Kankai Mai River in eastern Nepal, where international

agencies came to their aid. Living conditions were dire, disease rife. “I witnessed the death of 28 children in a day,” recalls Prahlad Dahal. “Some used to say, ‘God why are you testing us so much?’ I still remember the fi rst day the food ration was distributed. An elderly man took a handful of the items received and off ered them to God, pleading with him not to curse our children.”

The refugees were transferred to seven camps, set up by UNHCR in Nepal’s Jhapa and Morang districts, where they were destined to remain for many years. They longed above all to go back home. Prahlad said: “The days passed with the graph of hope moving up and down,

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the heartbeat generated by the achievement of any activity performed with the goal of one day returning home.”

This hope was never realized. After no less than 15 rounds of talks between the governments of Nepal and Bhutan, it became clear that not a single refugee would be repatriated. Since integration in Nepal was not a possibility either, the only option open to the stateless Bhutanese was resettlement. Several countries came forward to off er them a home, starting with the US that pledged to welcome most of them. In early 2008, there were 107,810 Bhutanese refugees. Resettlement started and, by the end of 2014, just over 23,000 refugees were left in the camps. It is envisaged that most of the process will be completed by the end of 2016 although individual refugees may still be resettled after that date.

The hope of education

This is the history of the Bhutanese refugees. It is a story of loss, of crushed hopes and deep sadness. On the eve of leaving for resettlement, Prahlad wrote: “I spent many nights with tears fl owing to heal the pain of poverty, the

pain of leaving everything in Bhutan. My eyes are fi lled now as I write. I don’t know why, for what and for whom. But the tears are rolling down.”

But that is not the whole story. The same Prahlad continues: “Today, I don’t regret being a refugee. When I think of the immense knowledge and experiences I have acquired, they will defi nitely be more than a car, a house and a job in Bhutan.”

One thing that helped make life more bearable for the Bhutanese in their exile, and helped many to thrive once they resettled, was a high-quality education program. Tila Chan Dhimal spoke for many of his fellow refugees when he said: “My life’s struggle would have become unbearable if I didn’t continue my education.”

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The beginnings of BREP

The education program of the Bhutanese refugees was born at the very beginning of their exile, in 1991, on the Mai bank, when teachers and members of the Student Union of Bhutan gathered children under the trees and started to teach.

“We collected a handful of friends and started teaching in the open air, on the sand,” said Shakun Subba, who is a head-teacher in the camps to this day. “We were lucky to have a hut of bamboo but it was toppled by strong winds. We did not give up. We had no incentive then but never gave this a second thought. Caritas started helping us with stationery and books and, after we had been teaching for a few months, gave us 500 rupees each. At fi rst we thought this was just for head-teachers and were so happy our names were included. Since the number of

teachers had increased by then, we shared the money among all – I still remember that we had 370 rupees each.”

Loknath Pokhrel, who was involved in coordinating education eff orts from the start, recalls: “People came with nothing, all had been lost, the only asset we could think of was education.”

The thirst for education in exile is nothing new. The urgent desire – need, even – to send their children to school tops the wish list of refugees around the world, even if they have barely enough food to survive. It is the tenuous promise for the future held out by education that keeps them going.

But despite the high motivation, refugee education does not have a track record of quality for several

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reasons, among them a lack of human and material resources. A Global Review published in 2011 by UNHCR described access to education for refugees as “limited and uneven”, particularly for girls and at secondary level. The review said that refugee education is generally of a very low standard, with untrained teachers and children learning very little in school.

Quenching the thirst for learning: The UNHCR Education Strategy 2010-2012 defi nes a quality education as one that “satisfi es basic learning needs and enriches the lives of learners and their overall experience of living”.

Making hope a reality

What sets the Bhutanese Refugee Education Program (BREP) apart is precisely the access and tangible quality that elude so many similar programs. The program’s success has been largely down to the indefatigable eff orts of the refugees. At the start, the teachers did four shifts per day, ending their day at 7pm. Schools were started in each of the seven camps, off ering only primary education at fi rst and expanding to secondary education by the end of 1994.

But mere input and quantity were never felt to be suffi cient indicators of success. Right from the beginning, rigorous teacher training, considered curriculum development, excellent organisation and constant self-evaluation ensured what UNHCR described as “comparatively high-quality education” and “probably our best education program in the world”.

Key to the achievements of BREP has been the support extended by UNHCR and a handful of NGOs, namely Caritas, APSO (Agency for Personnel Service Overseas) and the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). When the fi rst schools were established in the camps in 1992 and 1993, the refugees asked Caritas to be the implementing partner for UNHCR in education, which it remains to this day. International volunteers with specialised skills, from JRS, were seconded to Caritas from the start.



As for APSO, this agency off ered education experts who trained the refugee teachers and helped to develop the curriculum until 1997. Since APSO withdrew, JRS has managed the program on behalf of Caritas (in fact, this booklet refers to Caritas/JRS).

The importance of this external support – fi nancial, professional and moral – cannot be overestimated. For two decades, Caritas/JRS have been with the refugees, motivating, supporting, challenging and consoling them. The

close presence of the JRS volunteers meant much to the refugees, not least because the advocacy network of JRS International added its weight to their attempts to repatriate to Bhutan with dignity and honour. JRS undertook relentless advocacy for a durable solution for the Bhutanese, who drew only scant international attention in all the years they were stuck in the camps. When it became amply clear that repatriation was impossible, JRS persuaded the refugees to seriously consider resettlement.

The contribution of JRSwent beyond education and

other services to consistently supporting the efforts of theBhutanese refugees to fi nd a

durable solution to their plight.



Reaping the advantages of a good education

Clear outcomes show the eff ectiveness of BREP. When the program was at its peak, at the turn of the century, it was the largest formal education program for refugees in the world. There were 42,000 students from pre-primary to post-secondary levels, with a voluntary teaching staff of more than 1200 refugees. Nearly half of the students were female, a tremendous achievement in a community that traditionally did not consider education for girls to be important. When they became refugees, thanks to the eff orts of BREP to raise awareness, the Bhutanese gained a better understanding of girls’ education and, as a result, almost all the girls went to school.

Enrolment overall improved steadily throughout the years of exile and actually reached 100% at pre-primary level. Even those who were beyond

school-going age enrolled and were accepted. Marks were another indicator of success. Over the years, the refugees consistently fared better than their Nepalese counterparts in the District Board and the School-Leaving Certifi cate (SLC) exams. Between 1993 and 2007, the average SLC pass rate was 71%, a grade that would have been higher were it not for two or three years when marks dropped because some students were aff ected by the Maoist rebellion in Nepal. Some years, the refugees’ average marks stood between 81 and 85%.

In 1998, the refugees, Caritas/JRS and UNHCR successfully lobbied the Nepalese government for offi cial recognition of the refugees’ education. BREP served as one of the members of the District Examination Board and was even authorised to set additional papers especially for the refugees in the camps – the remarkable outcome of sustained representation to the authorities.

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In 2001, BREP featured as a case study for quality education at a UNHCR workshop on the policy and practices of refugee education in developing countries. A UNHCR education offi cer conducted an evaluation and found that the strengths of the Bhutanese program included positive attitudes towards education on the part of children and youth, families and teachers; strong systems for teacher training and support; and good organisation.

Once the Bhutanese refugees began to resettle abroad, their education served

them in good stead. When a former director of BREP, Varkey Perekkatt SJ, visited some Bhutanese living in the US, he said: “Every refugee is grateful to Caritas and JRS for the quality education that we have been able to impart to them, the fruit of which they are reaping now. This educational advantage has enabled the Bhutanese refugees to establish themselves more easily. The happiest news is that most of our students got admission in the same grade as they left the camp schools.”

OUTCOMES OF BREP• Positive community attitudes towards education• 100% enrolment in the camp schools• Gender balance in school population• Offi cial recognition of education by national authorities• Very good grades• Resettled students integrating easily into new schools



Sincere appreciation

Although quality is not easy to measure, because it means diff erent things to diff erent people, who attach their own values and interpretations to the term, one sound way of gauging

“The teacher training sustained the program continuously as did the commitment of the refugees to education, the community cooperation, and the support of Caritas/JRS. It’s been an all-round collaborative effort.”

Loknath Pokhrel, BREP education coordinator

“The strength of BREP is the support of the government of Nepal and of different agencies like UNHCR, Caritas and JRS.”

Dilip Subba, head-teacher

the quality of a service is to ask those who have used it. The Bhutanese are, by and large, thrilled with the education they have received and the benefi ts they have reaped, as individuals and as a community.

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“Some of our students, who have resettled and come back to visit us, say the education of the schools here is the best and has given them the potential they need to fi nd good jobs. They are very proud of their education, what more can I say?”

Shakun Subba, head-teacher

“What can I say about the education program? I’m speechless, it’s awesome, it is because of Caritas/JRS that I have become like this. When I came from Bhutan, I was in fourth grade and I continued my studies in the camp. To complete my studies and work as a counsellor and teacher in the school where I got my education, this is something for me.”

Khina Bastola, school counsellor

“We are proud of the students who have already resettled in Europe, Australia and elsewhere. They are doing well and much of the credit goes to BREP. I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Caritas/JRS for providing education, this is one of the greatest assets any agency can give. The whole Bhutanese community has been blessed by BREP, not only the teachers or students, but also parents and those who attend Spoken English classes, vocational training and other services.”

Prakash Ghisingh, head-teacher

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Meeting challenges head on

Of course BREP has encountered many challenges, starting from the actual school buildings themselves. Although the schools existed for more than 20 years, and some are still operating, they remained fl imsy and temporary structures, bamboo huts often in need of repair and that leaked in the rainy season.

Another perennial problem: the brain drain of experienced and qualifi ed teachers, not least due to the poor incentive received in the camps for their work. In a way BREP has been a victim of its own success. The program trained teachers so well that they easily found jobs outside the camps.

As enrolment increased over the years, schools became crowded with large classes of up to 65 pupils. Coupled with reduced funding, the bane of humanitarian programs everywhere, the overcrowding sometimes led to insuffi cient space and school supplies.

Students grappled with shortages too. They were not always able to study as much as they would have liked because of lack of kerosene for lamps. Inadequate food rations meant that some needed to work to supplement family supplies. A few even dropped out of school because their uniform no longer fi t them. Perhaps the greatest challenge was that many students were frustrated in their desire to pursue further studies due to lack of means.

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Actually the best practices employed by BREP evolved as the team sought and managed at least in part to deal with these heavy challenges. From 2008 onwards, when the resettlement process got under way, the challenges multiplied. It has become increasingly diffi cult to run schools for children still in the camps. Teachers have left for resettlement in droves. Children are less and less inclined to concentrate and instead worry about their resettlement

prospects, and about those who have already left or are likely to remain behind. Their grades have suff ered.

Despite the immense struggle to continue off ering education in this scenario, BREP is pressing ahead in a reduced number of camps and schools, constantly recruiting, training and monitoring new teachers and strengthening psychosocial support for beleaguered students.

THE CHALLENGES

• “Brain drain” of experienced and qualifi ed teachers• Reduced funding• Overcrowded schools and large classes• Lack of essentials for schoolchildren like food,

clothes and kerosene for lamps• Frustration among students unable to pursue further education• The resettlement scenario

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Why and how we wrote this booklet

We want to celebrate the massive energies invested into making BREP a success and the many lessons learned. This booklet is both a tribute to BREP and an inspiration for those who are running schools in refugee camps across the world.

The content is based on interviews with veteran members of the BREP offi ce-based coordinating team, head-teachers and deputy head-teachers, resource teachers, classroom teachers and counsellors, nearly all of whom were students once, as well as young people belonging to Youth-Friendly Centres (YFCs). Other materials include two evaluations conducted in 2000 and in 2008 (see references on the

inner back cover) and reports, articles and correspondence written by BREP staff over the years. Chief among the interviewees is Loknath Pokhrel, one of the founding members of BREP and long-time education coordinator for the project. You will see his name appear time and again – there is no better-informed expert on BREP.

The booklet explores those elements of approach and practices – we call them “strengths” – that have made BREP a success. It is a testimony to the resilience of the refugees and the loyalty of the organisations that accompanied them for many years. We hope the do-able solutions identifi ed by BREP will be applicable in other refugee settings and improve the access to and quality of education there too.



What’s in a name?

Each of the schools opened by BREP was christened with a particular name that embodied the aspirations of the Bhutanese refugees for the education of their children:

Pancha-Oti English School – The fi rst school. The name is symbolic of the Hindu god Rama: when he was exiled, Rama took refuge under the Pancha-Oti tree and it gave him the fruits of wisdom.

Tri-Ratna Secondary School – Tri-Ratna means ‘three gems’. For the Bhutanese refugees, education was so precious, it was like a jewel. ‘Three’ refers to the camps called Beldangi I, Beldangi II and Beldangi III because when it was set up, Tri-Ratna School served refugees from all three.

Oasis Academy – This school was started on the dry bank of the river where there was no water, only stone and sand. For a refugee, school is as important as an oasis in a desert.

Green Vale Academy – Just as water is important for plants, education is

important for the refugees. A green valley is a sign of life and prosperity. Education is also meant to prepare children for life and prosperity.

Blooming Lotus English School – The lotus is a tender fl ower that needs loving care to bloom; this is how children should be treated at school if they are to fl ourish.

New Horizon Academy – This name symbolises the new horizon that the refugee children found at school, a place where the sun shines again.

Marigold Academy – Similar to the lotus, the name symbolises how the children will blossom if well tended, just as the marigold fl ower does.

Sunrise Academy – The name of this school, situated on a hilltop, evoked the light of the rising sun, which mirrors the light that education gives to children.

Druk Model School – This was a direct reference to the constant yearning and intention of the refugees to go home: ‘Druk’ means Bhutan.


The strengths of BREP

Part 2THE STRENGTHS OF BREP

“I feel very happy that I taught so many students here and that so many became teachers. Seeing their performance, I am happy. The commitment of the teachers is really appreciable.”




WE ACCOMPANYThe JRS mission has three verbs: to accompany, to serve and to defend the rights of the refugees. After listening to dozens of people describe their work with BREP, it is the fi rst verb that stands out: to accompany. At every single level, from the project director to the assistant collecting and taking infants to the play centre, the people involved in BREP accompany. They do so in many diff erent ways, both personally and professionally, one-on-one, in teams and in community.

Caritas/JRS have accompanied the refugee community throughout their exile, a close and constant presence in the camps and in the schools,

extending support that has gone far beyond academic matters. Offi ce-based staff accompany school staff , resource teachers accompany classroom teachers, counsellors accompany troubled students, youth mentors accompany their mentees, and so on.

The way they accompany refl ects values carefully cultivated and disseminated, it is a way of being and operating that has made the program what it is. Essential ingredients of this accompaniment are genuine appreciation, especially of the contribution of the teaching staff , and open communication.

Always there: former BREP director Varkey Perekkatt SJ

in one of the camps.



“Our attitudes are imbibed with the JRS spirit and values and this is the kind of personal approach we had with the refugees in the camps, and the kind of orientation we gave our staff in the offi ce and teachers. So many have personally approached this offi ce over the years because they knew the fathers and sisters were there and they could express their needs, that this was one place that was always very open to listen.”

Sr Lourdu Mary Thumma,

BREP director

“Field staff have their expectations of the administrative and support staff but we have our limitations so sometimes we cannot take their suggestions into account. If we don’t talk to the fi eld staff, they could feel alienated and upset. When we visit them, when we share, ‘we face this diffi culty, you face it too, here is what we try to do, why don’t you try it too’, they feel they have been taken into consideration. We share information constantly with them too, news from the government, from the agencies.”

Loknath Pokhrel

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edededucucucatatata ioioioonnnn clclclasasass.s.s.



AN EQUAL PARTNERSHIP

The BREP offi ce staff are mostly refugees, bar the JRS volunteers and a few nationals, while the staff in the camps are refugees. All the refugee staff who were interviewed talked about the way in which Caritas/JRS run the program together with them. Actually, they feel it is their program and that Caritas/JRS have done a great job of helping them to manage it over the years.

The refugees have felt and indeed been fully trusted to take and implement decisions. Caritas/JRS have always shown readiness to take them on board as equal partners in a relationship qualifi ed by mutual respect and appreciation and constant consultation. Plus, the refugees are grateful to their partner for lobbying the donors to maintain funding, not least for the

teachers’ incentive – “if anyone spoke up for the incentive, it was Caritas/JRS.”

Formal meetings are a signifi cant element of this participatory approach; BREP is nothing if not extremely well organised. The offi ce-based education coordinators gather head-teachers and resource teachers for monthly meetings to share what is happening, to review and to plan. The agenda

includes curriculum development, syllabus teaching and monitoring, planning tests and student attendance.

The feeling of ownership of the program extends to the entire refugee community. Both the camp management committee and individual refugees have been very supportive.

On equal terms: former BREP director PS Amalraj SJ and one of the school head-teachers

(also pictured on the left) exchange greetings.



One practical example: teachers were exempted from the duty of ration loading, unloading and distribution – everyone had to do this – because other refugees volunteered to take their turn. Part of the reason why community participation has been so strong is because BREP worked hard, especially in the earlier years, to raise awareness about the importance of education. The school teachers used to go from hut to hut to meet parents to encourage them to send their children to school.

“There has always been mutual support. Sometimes Caritas/JRS needed our suggestions and other times we needed theirs. This collaborative effort was the best thing about the program. We came across different challenges but we planned and moved forward together to tackle them. Our way of working was such that at no time did we have to say, ‘no, this is not good’. And when we suggested a program or school need, our administrators never said, ‘no, this is not good’. This collaboration continues to this day.”

Loknath Pokhrel

“The refugees took responsibility at fi eld level with a great sense of commitment and accountability – they did A to Z in the camps on behalf of Caritas/JRS, or rather it was as if they owned the program. Caritas/JRS and the refugees have always worked in collaboration, planning, programming, innovating together. What impressed me most here is this participatory approach, the way JRS took the refugees into its confi dence, trusted them and their ability to take responsibility. We were always moving in the camps, in touch with all the people especially those in our programs. When we visited the camps from the offi ce, we would observe how things were going on and meet those in charge who would share with us any problem they had. There was a constant infl ow of information, a lot of sharing and a lot of listening. This participatory management was one of the strengths of BREP from which I learned a lot. It touched me. It wasn’t as if we were exercising authority or power, there was so much give and take, it was more of a learning process, how to adapt ourselves, how to be sensitive to the needs and feelings of the refugees, to accept their feelings and contributions to the program.”

Sr Lourdu Mary Thumma, BREP director

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A DESIRE TO SERVEBREP has been blessed by a force of highly motivated and positive teachers eager to serve their community. For the more qualifi ed ones, this meant forgoing the wages they could have earned in private schools outside the camps. Nepalese schools were eager to hire the refugee teachers because they were well prepared. Many were drawn to such jobs and BREP did face a ‘brain drain’. However a good number of teachers left for a few years and then returned to serve in the camp schools once again, where they had received their education and later pedagogical formation. Their intense commitment prompted them to make the most of the training and mentoring opportunities off ered by BREP and to do the best job possible.

“I wanted to help our students because we learned here.”

Deoraj Sinchuri, school counsellor

“When we came from Bhutan, in 1991, I started pre-primary and after 10 years I completed up to 10th grade. I studied more outside the camp and, when I fi nished, I felt I must serve in my society so I came to work in this school. We have to support one another. I expect that if I help to make my society more literate, then we will be able to express our feelings, especially our pain, to others who will be able to help us.”

Chhatra Bdr Tamang, resource teacher

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“I have 17 years of experience. I worked in different posts in the camp schools, from teacher to head-teacher. I decided to work practically as a volunteer, with an incentive, and stayed for all these years, because this is for our community, for the welfare of our refugee children. I feel very happy that I taught so many students here and that so many became teachers. Seeing their performance, I am happy. The commitment of the teachers is really appreciable.”


“I left the camp school to work in a boarding school outside

when I needed money to send my children to college. After two years I returned to the camp as

assistant head-teacher. My desire to serve my children completed, I wanted to come back again to

serve my society.”


“When I came to Nepal in 1992, I started teaching. We founded Marigold Academy and then I got a scholarship for further studies in education in Kathmandu. I worked in the city for some time and then I came back here. In terms of pay, it is better to work outside because wages are handsome. But we are happy here because we are serving our own community, we are serving refugee children, so I say I am blessed to serve here and more than happy to serve in the refugee community school.”

Prakash Ghisingh, deputy head-teacher



GOING AN EXTRA MILEOne of the biggest frustrations of refugee students is that they cannot aff ord to progress further in their education. Many Bhutanese refugees faced this predicament: the successful school system in the camps gave them an excellent education but only so far.

Here too, Caritas/JRS did their best. While UNHCR sponsored the primary classes until grade 8, Caritas/JRS sourced funding for the lower secondary classes, namely grades 9 and 10.

At fi rst there was support from the German government and UNHCR for further studies, grades 11 and 12, but eventually this was discontinued. From 1997 to 2011, JRS actually managed to fi nd the funds to support some students to do these grades in private schools outside the camps. In all, 15,266 students did grade 11 and 13,853 did grade 12. This was a gift not only for the individual students but also for the program because it meant that they could return to the camp schools as teachers.

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“JRS has made a very big contribution towards higher secondary education by pooling the resources from various donors, not least other JRS offi ces. I remember hundreds of young refugees queuing up outside our offi ce when they got their results, to apply for sponsorship for further studies.”

Sr Lourdu Mary, BREP director

“When parents saw how students were passing their SLC, they got encouraged. We had never thought that as refugees, we would be able to send our children to campus, but then parents all started to dream of sending theirs. Caritas/JRS came forward and helped us even for grades 11 and 12, otherwise we would never have been able to afford it. Then there were scholarships too. Because of this batch of students who did further studies, we had good teachers who helped younger ones in school. They were experienced and qualifi ed and we had good results.”


“Once our students passed out of class 10, Caritas/JRS came with a brilliant program to help those who could go further in the teaching profession. In our regular work, we created teachers confi dent to work outside and to continue their education. After class 10, they started teaching, they gained confi dence through training and support and then they had partial sponsorship, so they could move forward. This had an individual impact on many teachers.”

Prahlad Adhikari, offi ce-based resource teacher



GUIDANCE THAT ENRICHES US ALL

The lack of qualifi ed teachers is a problem in refugee education worldwide. BREP was actually fortunate because for several years, there was a pool of suitably qualifi ed candidates, who managed to do further studies outside the camp. So those selected had at least completed higher secondary school.

Nevertheless, a heavy investment in training has been required, not least because teachers who leave constantly need to be replaced, sometimes with inexperienced school-leavers, a problem especially acute at the beginning of the program and once the resettlement process started.

BREP has an innovative and intensive system of in-service teacher training. This system centres around the deployment of resource teachers in each school who supervise and guide classroom staff . The in-school resource teachers are in turn supported by offi ce-based resource teachers. This multi-layered system of ‘checks and balances’ has proved to be an eff ective method of reaching all the teaching staff .

The in-school resource teachers play a pivotal role, meeting frequently with classroom teachers – weekly in the case of lower primary – to train them and to share prescriptive lesson plans

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and syllabus briefi ngs. They observe and give feedback about classroom teaching and, in the past, participated in the recruitment of new teachers. When the program was at its peak, each school had around six resource teachers.

The in-school resource teachers meet their offi ce-based counterparts regularly, bringing to the table diffi culties encountered in the classroom. For their part, the offi ce staff go on fi eld visits, prepare and share the syllabus, draw up manuals and organise teacher-training workshops.

“When a classroom teacher presents us with a problem, we try to resolve it. If we cannot, we ask the resource teachers in the offi ce and they give solutions. We have resource teachers for each subject in the offi ce.”

Pabi Maya Tamang, in-school resource teacher

“Our duty is to guide the teachers. Some don’t have pedagogical skills when they are appointed so we direct them through workshops, observations and feedback. We work as per the offi ce guidelines and receive support from the offi ce resource teachers. For us it becomes easier to help teachers when we have such support. Having guidance enriches us all.”

Khem Raj Nepal, in-school resource teacher

“The team of resource teachers serves as a platform to tackle the problems faced by teachers.”

Prahlad Adhikari, offi ce-based resource teacher

“As resource teachers in the offi ce, we are in a position to understand the bigger picture – I have worked as a teacher and head-teacher so I know, to some extent, the real problems and practical diffi culties faced in the camp schools. So we can plan workshops to tackle those problems. When I was head-teacher, I could see for myself the big role that resource teachers played in planning, managing and maintaining the quality of education.”

Kamal Rai, offi ce-based resource teacher



LEARNING TO TEACHWorkshops for personnel are a constant feature of the program. These frequent training sessions combine with the role played by resource teachers to ensure that fi eld staff have thorough and continued formation.

Newly appointed teachers learn the basics of lesson planning and delivery in an orientation workshop. Teachers have manuals and guides produced by the BREP offi ce and every term they attend workshops about the subjects they teach, about pedagogy and other topics. Some workshops are held per school while others are central workshops for staff from all the schools. Resource teachers have

their own training and also attend workshops with the head-teachers and program coordinators.

Senior resource teachers conduct some workshops while external facilitators and experts are brought in for others. Some staff are taken for workshops to Nepalese institutions.

The content varies according to the participants. For example, primary teachers might learn about basic classroom management and child psychology, while head-teachers would get to know more about alternative ways of disciplining students, about counselling and leadership skills.

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“Caritas/JRS provided us with opportunities to participate in seminars and workshops to enhance teaching practices in the school and we have tried our best to incorporate those methods in the classroom here.”

Prakash Ghisingh, deputy head-teacher

“All the time the main effort was to get good teachers, trained by experts, who could pass on information to others. That was how we got the idea of resource teachers, coupled with short-term training, which alone would not have made much sense. And this is what helped to build the teachers.”

Prahlad Adhikari, in-school resource teacher



A RELEVANT CURRICULUM

Relevant, holistic, inclusive and updated – all describe the curriculum of the Bhutanese refugee schools. The curriculum has been tailored specifi cally for the refugees, and the program coordinators, resource teachers and head-teachers have developed it continuously over the years, always looking for ways to improve and to adapt to changing circumstances and needs.

In a way, this evolution has refl ected the shifting hopes and opportunities for the future of the Bhutanese. At fi rst, their battle cry was “education for repatriation”. Accordingly the children learned Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan. Later, the

aim became twofold, incorporating offi cial recognition by the Nepalese authorities. Finally, when resettlement was the only viable option, the curriculum refl ected this reality.

The curriculum is a hybrid of the Bhutanese and Nepalese ones. The medium of instruction is English and many of the textbooks are basic copies produced by the program itself, adapting those used in Nepal and Bhutan. This has proved to be a cost-eff ective strategy in the camp context, where text books and stationery are usually scarce. It also means the books can be constantly updated and have teacher-training notes accompanying them.

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There is a clear emphasis on holistic growth, on forming young people who are capable of critical thinking and who respect themselves, others and the world around them. Social studies, environmental studies and value education form part of the curriculum. When the program was at its peak, extra-curricular activities abounded, among them cultural programs, quizzes, essay-writing and sports competitions.

“At fi rst we thought people would move back soon so we wanted to keep education on a par with the education in Bhutan. That was our slogan then, ‘education for repatriation’. We printed the books here ourselves, modifying the syllabus for language and social studies. Most of the books came from Bhutan, I used to go to the border and ask someone to get them for me, even just photocopies.”

Loknath Pokhrel

“BREP attaches great importance to those aspects of education learned outside the classroom – the ‘hidden curriculum’. Pupils do 10 minutes ‘social work’ each day before assembly. This work involves cleaning the classroom and keeping the school compound tidy. Students also take it in turns to make speeches during assembly. This gives them an opportunity to improve their confi dence.”

Tim Smith, UNHCR evaluator

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EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL

The schools in the Bhutanese refugee camps welcome children with special needs and enable teachers to work with them through an intricate system of monitoring and training that mirrors the one underpinning the rest of the program.

The groundwork on inclusive education started in 1996: identifying people in need, assessing the diffi culties they are facing and how the program could cater to their needs. From 1999 onwards, each school had a special-needs support teacher, who received training about diff erent kinds of physical and intellectual disability, about classroom management for disabled students, and in skills such as braille and lip reading. A corresponding resource teacher was employed in the BREP offi ce.

The special-needs support teachers cover the entire school, guiding teachers who have disabled students in class and organising remedial classes. Earlier, they were assisted in their work by more support teachers. What’s more, each disabled student has a classmate who is selected and prepared to be a ‘buddy’.

In order to provide such a thorough service, the schools liaise with the Disability Program (DP) also run by Caritas/JRS (see page 48). The DP staff train the support teachers, go on home visits to encourage children to go to school, and supply learning aids like talking calculators, rechargeable hearing aids, braille books and wheelchairs.

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“An objective of the program is for disabled children to have equal educational opportunities with full participation and the necessary support.”

Tim Smith, UNHCR evaluator

“On average our students with special needs have done well; many have reached Grade 10 and passed their School-Leaving Certifi cate exams. Some of our blind students have topped university in Nepal.”

Loknath Pokhrel



LOOKING AFTER VULNERABLE STUDENTSA bridge between teachers, children and their parents: this is the role of the school counsellors in BREP, one they fulfi l admirably thanks to their dedication, constant supervision and in-service training.

The counsellor post was created in 2001, in response to an increasing number of dropouts, and since 2004, each school has had a male and female counsellor. Recruits are chosen from among the experienced teachers and attend an orientation workshop. An offi ce-based resource person supervises the school counsellors and may be called upon to intervene in thorny cases. The resource person holds monthly meetings with a training component and annual workshops.

The counsellors are called in when children have been absent for more than a week and also take up cases of students who are disruptive or who have dropped out of school. They go on home visits to try to identify the real problems and to work with the child, parents and teachers as needed.

Vulnerable children receive extensive support not only from the counsellors but also from the Mentor-Mentee Program (see page 39), which is part of the Youth-Friendly Centres (YFCs) in the camps that are also run by Caritas/JRS. The counsellors and youth mentors work in eff ective partnership to help each child.

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“We created the school counsellor post because we felt there was no platform for students to refer their problems other than the school administration and sometimes they felt ill at ease to do this, because their problems were with the administration.”

Loknath Pokhrel

“The counsellors have become really good at identifying the children’s problems. The help they give is tremendous. Right now, there are so many problems because some parents concentrate so much on the resettlement process that they neglect the children who must manage alone, with no one to listen to them. They can come and share with the counsellors any time.”

Sr Mary Kumari, resource person for the counsellors

“I like this job because when I counsel the girls and their parents, I learn from them too. The students are all unique in the problems they face and the way they behave. Substance abuse – alcohol, drugs and pills – is the main problem I see, although I wouldn’t say there are many cases. Some girls do improve but others don’t want to hear what I have to say, so it is very diffi cult to work with them. When I go for home visits, I see that 90% have family problems: their parents drink, they quarrel, some have no parents at all. If we cannot cope with a situation, we call the resource counsellor from the offi ce and she comes to help. She is our motivation and it is thanks to her we are here and can work.”

Khina Bastola, school counsellor

“Some students have big family problems. For example, they have to do all the cooking and housework, their parents don’t help because they drink. Our girls especially do more of the chores. Then there are some whose parents abandoned them; I’ve even met children of 11 living alone in their hut. We ask the student to share with us what the problem is, and we explain to the teacher, so when the child comes late or plays up, the teacher will be aware what the issue is.”

Indra Kumari Rai, school counsellor



LEARNING WITHOUT FEARThere is no doubt that the counsellors have served to protect the rights of children both at home and at school. In school, the counsellors have helped to maintain positive and eff ective discipline, not least by intervening in disputes that may arise between staff and students and by explaining the reasons why some students behave the way they do.

Their presence has bolstered the schools’ policy of promoting a peaceful classroom environment where students’ ideas are respected and where they can learn without fear. All teachers know that corporal punishment is offi cially forbidden and that this ban is strictly enforced by the BREP offi ce. They receive clear and detailed guidelines on discipline as well as training about children’s rights.

“The teachers have had many workshops and have realised that no corporal punishment is allowed. There are strict instructions from the offi ce about this and rightly so. The counsellors have helped. Sometimes there are disputes in school and we refer the children to the counsellor.”


“We have had long training programs on child rights and we remind the teachers regularly about positive reinforcement and why negative reinforcement is not good for students. When I was head-teacher, we had a disciplinary action committee in the school. Disciplinary problems were solved mainly through counselling and discussion with parents.”

Kamal Rai, offi ce-based resource teacher

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BROTHER, SISTER, FRIENDBrother, sister, friend. This is how young people assigned as mentors describe the troubled children entrusted to their care. Since it was set up in the camps in mid-2011, the Mentor-Mentee Program has helped many children to grow in self-esteem, to do better at school and to quit unhealthy behaviour.

The need for such a program was felt especially once resettlement started and some students who stayed behind were adversely aff ected by

the inevitable upheaval. With only a minority of the refugees left in the camps, the atmosphere has become somewhat unsettled. Money sent by resettled relatives is sometimes misused on cigarettes, alcohol, drugs and other harmful things. With what seems like plenty of cash in hand, some students think they no longer need to go to school. Anyhow they fi nd it practically impossible to concentrate at this time. Some leave home for school but never get to the classroom.

“We look after vulnerable kids. As a mentor, my responsibility is to look after my mentee, to help him with his studies and to see he doesn’t go the wrong way. I go to the child’s hut and to school to enquire about his attendance. Before I start a new mentor-mentee relationship, I don’t know the child, but then we become like an elder and younger brother and sister and we are so happy we can point these kids to the right direction. It’s exciting.”

Babita Magar

Life is not easyfor the students still in the camps.



“My mentee was a boy of about 10 years who was so naughty. When he saw me, he used to run away and he used to bunk school too. One day, he missed school, and by 9pm he had not yet returned home. I went with his mother – his father is dead – to search for him. Finally we found him sitting alone by the water tank of the camp. The next day I went to his house and spent the whole day to help him revise because his exams were coming up. After that he changed and went to school regularly.”

Mongoli Maya Tamang

Those children who are referred to the school counsellor may get a mentor, a trusted young refugee who is a core YFC member (see page 45). The mentors have brief training to learn the basic do’s and don’ts of their voluntary role: confi dentiality, listening, empathy; not getting overinvolved and referring for professional help if necessary. They are supervised by the school counsellors and spend some four to fi ve hours weekly with their mentees.

“When I was a mentee, I was not at all confi dent among my friends, I used to feel inferior, I couldn’t stand up and speak

at school. But my mentor taught me a lot and I gained confi dence.

She was very caring and very good. She used to give me lots

of advice and to take me to yoga classes. She told me: ‘Don’t think of yourself as disabled, don’t have

that inferiority complex.’ With all this I became so confi dent.

Since becoming a mentor myself, I feel very satisfi ed when I see my

mentee improve.”

Bikram Sampang



In 2001, Caritas/JRS took over the running of the child play centres. There was and still is one centre in each camp and they are run in coordination with the camp management committees.

The centres serve two important functions. First, they provide a safe space where pre-school children, aged between three and fi ve years, can play and learn for two hours every day – one hour of structured activities and another hour of free play. Otherwise the little refugees do not have much to occupy them. Second, the centres pave the way for the enrolment of children in primary school, by getting them used to routine, to learning and to the discipline of a classroom setting.

STARTING FROM THE BEGINNINGThe children are collected from a pick-up point in the camps, according to sub-section, and taken back there at the appointed time. This is helpful for busy mothers who cannot ferry one of their children across the camp to the play centre while leaving the others behind in the family hut.

When UNHCR stopped funding the centres in 2004, JRS Singapore generously funded them from 2005 to 2012, at which point St Ignatius Parish in Singapore took over.

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FLEXIBILITY

After the decision was taken to resettle the Bhutanese, BREP started Spoken English classes for adult learners. In 2008 Spoken English classes started in all seven camps and, following the merging of the camps, they are still being organised in two. By the end of 2014, almost 23,000 Bhutanese refugees had attended the classes and most left for resettlement, confi dent that they could communicate in simple English.

Throughout the years, one of the main strengths of BREP has been its fl exibility. Practices that no longer worked were discarded and new ones developed to adapt to changing circumstances. For example, when more and more experienced teachers started to leave, BREP decided to introduce primary school textbooks, changing the pupil-centred approach

it had followed for years (NAPE – the new approach to primary education) where teachers taught without books.

Another example: as the number of students swelled, sub-campuses were created to ease pressure on some of the main schools, known as sector or extension schools. The sector schools were for the infants, from pre-primary



“There was never a time when we said this is our system, this is our pattern, we had to constantly modify. When there was need for more teacher-training, we doubled the number of in-school resource teachers. We created counsellor posts, we started the special needs programs. Now we are having frequent teacher changes and the new teachers have problems in managing the students, so we sit here and work out what kind of training programs will help them.”

Loknath Pokhrel

to grade 3, and corresponded to the administrative areas of the camp so that the children did not need to walk far to get to school. Also, the fact that they were separated from older children lessened the likelihood of bullying.

Perhaps the hardest change for the refugees to make was the shift in focus of their education: from the goal of repatriation to that of resettlement. Once the departures for third countries started, the program’s fl exibility stood it in good stead. Spoken English classes were organised for the departing refugees. As more refugees left and some of the camps closed, schools were grouped together. New teacher-

training programs were devised for young and inexperienced teachers – the only ones left after most of the rest had gone.

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A solid sense of ownership

“This has been called a protracted situation – where refugees were stuck without hope and prospects. They have managed to survive in this darkness, and the way BREP was implemented clearly contributed to make sure people continued to have hope and vision for the future, because their children were cared for properly. This is the value of education everywhere but it was particularly so here. And when resettlement started, the refugees were well prepared thanks to the investment for those came as children 20 years ago, who were born in camps. Their spirit remained strong to survive because of the hope off ered by the program.

The program really helped me, personally, from the beginning, to appreciate the value of humanitarian engagement with the Bhutanese

refugees. It has really inspired me. When I fi rst met Fr PS Amal, when he was the director of BREP, he presented himself and his program with a very strong, clear vision and with a sense of ownership and commitment towards education for refugees. It is not easy to see this spirit of ownership but Caritas and JRS have a solid identity and this was probably one of the key factors that made BREP so successful. It is not only a matter of education: since Caritas/JRS are here, always in the camp, close to the children and hence to the families, they know many things and before the UN can respond to a situation – like an accident or a fi re – they are already there, coordinating, sharing information.”

Shinji Kubo, head of UNHCR sub-offi ce, Damak

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OVER AND ABOVE

Apart from running the schools, Caritas/JRS also manage Youth-Friendly Centres (YFCs), vocational-training programs and a Disability Program in the camps. This involvement has served to bolster the education program with activities geared towards the integral development of young refugees as well as strong services for students with special needs and for those who drop out of school.

A CHANCE TO SHINECaritas/JRS set up Youth-Friendly Centres (YFCs) in 2006 in collaboration with UNHCR to give young people their own space, to develop their potential and to off set the boredom and frustration of camp life. Like the other ancillary programs run by Caritas/JRS, the YFCs have been managed in close collaboration with the camp schools, with the school heads acting as advisors.

To this day, the YFCs serve as a platform for young refugees to take a more active role in the life of the camps. Short courses aim to equip core members with the confi dence, knowledge and skills to make a positive diff erence. They learn about leadership, journalism, public speaking, street theatre, life skills, peer education, music and coaching in sports.

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The committed YFC members have proved their worth. When fi res and fl oods struck the camps, they played an active role in rebuilding huts and disseminating relief. They organise many activities, among them a long-running blood donation campaign and awareness about social problems like HIV/AIDS, human traffi cking, sexual and gender-based violence, teen marriages and caste-based discrimination.

The young refugees have shown considerable fl air in organising street dramas to get their message across, performing for 15 minutes to half an

hour without a fi xed script and relying on spontaneous creativity. The dramas recently proved helpful to diff use the tension surrounding potentially problematic resettlement issues. One classic example, and the theme of a drama, is a mixed marriage between a Bhutanese refugee who (mistakenly) thinks he cannot resettle because his wife is Nepalese, and the arguments that follow.

The relationship with neighbouring Nepalese has also benefi ted because the YFC teams perform street dramas for them too and hold social awareness

“When we come here, we learn so much and then we can share this with our friends, with other young people in the camp.”

Mangal Singh Magar

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“I like to come here because at home we have nothing to do after school; here we can do voluntary work and we like that a lot. We learn public speaking and have other training and activities like sports, and we get in touch with camp-based organisations to hold events.”

Babita Magar, YFC coordinator

“The YFC has given me the opportunity to come to this level – if I had not joined, I don’t know what would have happened, if I would have reached this position. The YFC gave me an identity, helped me to recognise myself and to share this recognition with the community.”

Sancha Hang Subba, camp secretary

sessions in local schools. Over the years, local youth have been invited to join sports and dance tournaments, cultural programs and training programs organised by the YFCs.

The YFCs have produced many leaders for the refugee communities, who have held positions in the camp management committees and worked for diff erent agencies present in the camps. While the project has turned out to be successful to this day, it has suff ered due to funding cuts, which have aff ected the activities held.

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CREATING SAFE SPACES

Caritas/JRS inherited the Disability Program (DP) from another NGO in 2001. Adopting a community-based approach, the program off ers a wide range of essential services to people with disabilities and their families. The overall aim is to help them to integrate as much as possible in the community, to enjoy “life to the full” and the same rights as other refugees.

This is easier said than done. Many disabled refugees suff er from stigma that starts in the home, from their parents who see their condition as a divine curse and who are at a loss as to how to care for and support them. The team goes on regular home visits to families, off ering counselling, advice and physiotherapy.

In 2007 the Women’s Refugee Commission asked the head of the DP to undertake research into services for disabled refugees in the camps. The research revealed gaps and shortcomings in the physical layout of the camp, the distribution of services and other areas. Respondents also cited discrimination and the risk of abuse as problems.

The only area that shone was that of access to education. The DP liaises with the schools and invests heavily in the training of special-needs support teachers (see also page 34).

While there is a heavy emphasis on inclusive education, the program also organises six-month vocational-training

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courses in many trades, including carpentry, crafts, tailoring and painting. People attend these courses either as an alternative to or once they have fi nished school. For those who cannot attend either school or vocational training, there is occupational therapy at the disability centres, of which there is one in each camp.

Training is high on the agenda of the DP: educating parents about the disability of their child, what has caused it, how to tackle it and what the likely prognosis is.

“Parents are unaware of the causes of disability – they believe it is a curse from the gods, due to bad deeds in the past, so we give workshops and have a fact sheet on diff erent types of disability. We talk about language and labelling, orienting parents to use the appropriate words to describe their children,” said program coordinator Ravi Sharma Chapagain.

For parents, the DP also organises training in sign language, monthly meetings, and self-help groups where they can meet to share problems and pool savings in a micro-credit scheme. Respite care is available, as well as palliative care for children with palsy. The ultimate aim of this intensive support to families is to enable them to participate to the fullest extent possible in the care of the one who has special needs.

Staff with community organisations are also trained in a bid to make the camps more disability-friendly spaces, for example health workers, those who distribute food rations and members of the camp management committee.

One of the priorities of the DP team is to try to keep disabled refugees from harm. Creating safe spaces is crucially important, especially for women. “In the daytime we try to engage as many refugees as possible in the program

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activities, where they can be in a safe space together. The underlying aim is protection from possible abuse, which they are vulnerable to,” said Ravi Sharma. “From this year [2014], we started giving awareness to the parents specifi cally about disability and sexual and gender-based violence.”

Refugee volunteers with the program keep a constant lookout in the camps so that when something happens, they can act immediately. “We recruit refugees as volunteers because they are here day and night,” continued Ravi Sharma.

“For example, one hearing-impaired person was physically assaulted by his neighbours. His guardian rushed to the disability centre in the camp and the team took action. Another example: last year there were many

fi res in the camps. In such cases, people with mobility problems are the most vulnerable. Our volunteers rushed to help, to collect information and to contact me.”

The program off ers very practical services that make life easier, including the organisation of medical referrals for children for corrective surgery, and assessment and certifi cation of their disabilities, which is important for many reasons, among them placement in school and resettlement.

While some refugees with special needs have resettled with their families, many others have stayed back. In fact, the more people leave for resettlement, the higher the percentage of refugees with disabilities in the remaining camp population. Clearly the need for the DP will be there until the end.

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Ravi Sharma, disability program coordinator, on the left, consults with core committee members of the Bhutanese RefugeeAssociation of the Disabled (BRAD).



VOCATIONAL TRAININGMore than 10,000 people have benefi ted from vocational-skills training off ered since 1998. Caritas/JRS started to organise vocational-training courses so that young people who had dropped out of school could learn some skills that would make them employable.

Also given preference on the courses are others who are somehow vulnerable, among them disabled refugees, substance abusers, those who are very poor, orphans and divorced or single women. The vocational training was funded fi rst by the UN World Food Program (UNWFP), and later by UNHCR too, and many

courses have had a number of places reserved for local participants. In fact, this was one of the many measures undertaken by Caritas/JRS to build bridges with the host community.

Training has been off ered for a vast array of skills that are in demand, among them hotel catering, dressmaking, hairdressing, computer or secretarial skills and auto repair. The courses are usually three to six months long.

There have always been many more applications than places available and recruits are selected by interview by a panel comprising representatives



from Caritas/JRS, the funding agencies and other organisations present in the camps.

Each course has a formal opening and the trainees are clearly told what is expected from them in terms of punctuality, attendance and diligence. Monthly tests and exams are held and participants also attend a day-long workshop on personality development. Once they graduate, they are linked to

a local micro-enterprise program for training to start their own business.

Evaluation to assess the impact of the training reveals that most trainees went on to fi nd work that they do either from home or in a group with others, or for shops. Those who resettled to third countries say they found their vocational skills useful to fi nd entry-level jobs.

References

“Improving quality and attainment in refugee schools: the case of the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal,” Timothy Brown, in Learning for a Future: Refugee Education in Developing Countries, Education and Policy Analysis Unit, Health and Community Development Section, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, 2001

Refugee education – a global review, Sarah Dryden-Peterson, UNHCR Policy Development and Evaluation Service, 2011

Research Report, Bhutanese Refugee Education Program, Caritas Nepal, Roj Nath Pande Satyal Publication Family, Teacher Training Division, 2008.

Acronyms

APSO Agency for Personnel Service OverseasBREP Bhutanese Refugee Education ProgramDP Disability ProgramJRS Jesuit Refugee ServiceNGO Non-governmental organisationSLC School-Leaving Certifi cateUNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesYFC Youth-Friendly Centres

www.jrs.net

Performing during a school event in one of the Bhutanese refugee camps in eastern Nepal in 2011.

“The teacher training and support sustained the Bhutanese Refugee Education Program continuously as did the commitment of the refugees to education, the community support, and the support of Caritas/JRS. It’s been an all-round collaborative effort.”

Loknath Pokhrel, BREP education coordinator

top marks for the bhutanese refugee education program

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