Arakan News Agency | Exclusive
As difficulties mount ahead of Rohingya refugees having good education that can help them live a better future outside Bangladesh camps, A rohingya youth has took a step towards providing a better future for Rohingya community.
Depending on himself, a Rohingya youth named Yassor Arfat launched an educational platform to help his fellow refugees in Bangladesh camps to read books, gain knowledge and enroll in courses. As it is still a small project, but it may form as a cornerstone for other bigger steps towards providing quality education for Rohingya.
Arfat started working on his project, Skillvite, solely from scratch for years. He was able in May to launch it officially. Now he gives, with other Rohingya youth, courses in language, computer and other fields, besides other services.
The Beginning
As a refugee in camps, Arfat knew how deprivation of education can negatively affect the future of Rohingya youth and children. Arfat reached camps after his family fled genocide in Myanmar in 2017, leaving behind his school and dreams.
After 3 years of failure to find a good opportunity to resume his education, Arfat started searching online where he found rich content and several courses, but none of them were in Rohingya language.
“All courses were in English or Bangladeshi languages, none was in Rohingya, it was a huge obstacle, then I realized how big the problem is”, Arfat Told Arakan News Agency ANA.
He elaborates saying “if we don’t provide good education, especially in our language, our youth may fall into negative paths. 90% of our mothers and sisters are uneducated. I wanted to change this”.
This is how the idea for Skillvite was born, Arfat wanted it to be a platform to make education more accessible to Rohingya youth, women, and children.
What does Skillvite offer?
The platform offers 4 main services include recorded video courses, over 600 free books with more added regularly, notes section for every course to help learners understand better and interactive sessions for better learning.
The books cover a wide range of topics, including self-development, business management, finance, science, autobiography, and more. The young man was keen to provide a digital library on the platform because approximately 90% of Rohingya students only read academic books. He believes in the great value of reading and strives to empower people to read anytime, anywhere.
Arfat explained to the Arakan News Agency that he began working on his project as an app in 2021, handling everything from graphic design to development and content. “This made his progress slow, but I was committed to continuing despite facing countless challenges”, he said.
He added, “I tried to publish the app on the Google Play Store, but they asked for proof of citizenship and legal documents, which I don’t have. I borrowed a friend’s ID to apply, but my application was rejected and ultimately banned.”
Arfat continued to work two or three hours a day to develop the app until he was able to officially launch it on May 2nd on his website due to the inaccessibility of the Google Play Store. To date, his app has been downloaded by more than 1,500 people.
He said, “The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and many people are contacting him to learn how to use the platform. He also expressed his happiness at launching his project with the goal of teaching Rohingya life skills, technology, and easy access to education.”
Arfat emphasized that the platform is extremely important for those who cannot access education outside the camps. However, he emphasized that there are other challenges, such as the difficulty of accessing internet services in the camps, as service is very limited.
More than a million Rohingya refugees live in Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh far from their homeland, after fleeing violence and persecution in Myanmar. Violence and persecution against them have been on the rise since the Arakan Army launched a military campaign to seize control of Arakan State in November 2023. The United Nations describes Cox’s Bazar as the largest refugee camp in the world.
