Tomorrow Today: Accessing Hope Through Education
Refugee and asylum seeker children in Indonesia are living a life in limbo without education. Their parents yearn to give their children the gift of learning however due to local restrictions, this is not possible.
This project aims to change this by providing tuition and education from within the asylum seeker and refugee communities.
Tomorrow Today will support:
- Experienced and qualified teachers to use their skills and expertise to help children
- Education and support for 60-90 children per tuition centre
- Local or international volunteer teachers to guide and support program outcomes and teaching quality
Mohammad's Story
Every parent sacrifices their lives for their children and as illiterate adults, Mohammad and his wife’s compelling concern is to find an education for their children. All day the children sit in their room and as each day passes,
Mohammad’s sadness grows deeper knowing his children are wasting their time. Five years before arriving in Indonesia, as ethnic Hazaras, Mohammad’s family fled Afghanistan in fear of their lives and sought asylum in Syria. They applied to the UNHCR and were
granted refugee status, receiving simple support including a housing allowance and informal schooling for the children while waiting in a foreign land and hoping for resettlement. As terror once again reigned in this family’s life and horrors unfolded in Syria,
life became unendurable and Mohammad’s family fled to Indonesia.
Although the family were recognised as refugees in Syria, when they went to the UNHCR office in Jakarta they were told they would have to restart the entire Refugee Status Determination process from the beginning. The family are
classified as asylum seekers, not refugees, meaning no support, protection, work rights, access to education or healthcare. Providing simple meals and paying the $A50 per month rent is a daily concern eating away at Mohammad’s mind, on top of the heavy traumas
from the past. Despite all of this suffering, Mohammad's pressing dream is to educate his children. He struggles with so much in his life and being able to provide any kind of educational support for his three children brings tears to his eyes.
How Can you help?
- Your donation of $150 will support an asylum seeker teacher deliver education.
- $20 will provide essential books and stationery for ten children.
- For just $50, you can provide rent for the tuition centre for an entire month; much better than a meal out in Melbourne or other large cities...
