Indonesia has become a temporary home for thousands of refugees from Asia and Africa. Voice of America’s Dave Grunebaum reports from Cisarua [chi-sa-ROO-ah], Indonesia, on a program that helps these displaced people prepare for the lives that lie ahead of them.

In these classrooms in Cisarua, Indonesia, 85 young refugees learn subjects from science to English to math.

Academically qualified students can even join an online program and work towards a U.S. high school diploma. It’s happening at the Cisarua Refugee Learning Center. Cisaura is a few hours drive from Indonesia’s biggest city, Jakarta, and hosts about 1,300 refugees, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

Afnaan Guleid is a 13-year-old whose family fled Somalia. She says her family worried about violence back in their homeland. But here, she can focus on her dreams.

Afnaan Guleid
Student refugee from Somalia
I want to be a scientist when I grow up because I love to do experiments and discover things by myself.

The facilities are very basic. This learning center is funded entirely from private donations, mostly from international donors. All of the teachers are volunteers, and many are refugees themselves. Students and their families fled violence or persecution in countries in Asia and Africa.

Reza Hussa
Learning center principal
Students from different cultures. Students from different religions. Students from different countries. When they come here, I’m sure there is a diversity of culture here.

Zahra Sakhawat is a 12-year-old student from Afghanistan. She says this learning center builds a sense of community.

Zahra Sakhawat
Student refugee from Afghanistan
The community is very good because everyone is very kind and dear with each other.

The United Nations refugee agency says that currently, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are accepting refugees who are staying in Indonesia but the process typically takes at least seven years and placement is not guaranteed. While Indonesia allows refugees to enroll in public schools, the Cisarua Refugee Learning Center offers its students a chance to focus on their English which is a skill they’ll need if they’re resettled.

Reza Hussa
Learning center principal
We are trying to prepare them for the next country that they are going.

The Cisarua Refugee Learning Center opened a decade ago and has become a model for similar refugee programs that have started elsewhere in the country to help young refugees prepare for the future.

Dave Grunebaum, VOA News, Cisarua, Indonesia.

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