Why Education?

Last month we sat down as a team to re-evaluate the core principles of Refugee Support Network, and came up with a new tagline, “Education for a Hopeful Future.”

Education is at the very heart of what we do. Whether supporting young asylum seekers and refugees to access higher education, running a mentoring scheme partnering learning mentors with young asylum seekers and refugees, or providing a weekly space for asylum and refugee women to learn together we are recognising that education inspires, empowers and invests value into the lives of those affected by displacement.

We are asked regularly why we believe in education when there are many other important services that we could provide to those we work with, some of which seem more pressing. This is our answer.

Education is a Human Right

The right to education has been universally recognised since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and has since been enshrined in various international conventions- yet the right to education is still denied to millions around the world. According to the Global Campaign for Education, 69 million children worldwide are missing out on an education. A third of these children out of school have a disability, while 60% of all children out of school are girls.

Watch this video from The Girl Effect to find out about the importance of educating girls (and no, it's not discriminatory.. they believe in education for boys too! Watch to find out more.)

Many of the young asylum seekers and refugees we work with come from countries with under-developed education systems. Some have never received formal education, others have paid a high price for a basic level of education- all have in one way or another struggled to access this fundamental human right.

While global inequalities result in discrepancies between the education offered in different countries, once young asylum seekers and refugees arrive in the UK this does not have to be the case.

In supporting young asylum seekers and refugees in their education we are enabling them to invest in their futures, and we are demonstrating that they have a future worth investing in.

Education Empowers

Anna was trafficked into the UK when she was just 15 years old. She is now supported by a RSN mentor. When asked about her experience of education she answered, “With goals and the future, sometimes you just need someone to encourage you, to encourage you that you can achieve things”. We believe that this is what education does.

By receiving an education in the UK the young asylum seekers and refugees we work with are increasing their chances of employment, here and in their countries of origin if they return voluntarily or are returned forcibly once their temporary leave to remain in the UK ends. Education enables them to better deal with the challenges they may face in the future, and provides the confidence to “make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes”, according to the definition of empowerment by the World Bank.

Education Inspires

When those who have been marginalised are invested in, they begin to see themselves as valuable, which runs contrary to the widespread media perception of refugees and asylum seekers as being a burden on society and having no worth. As a girl supported by a RSN mentor said, "It means so much to me when someone helps without seeing me as dirt but as a person... you have helped me to feel part of this world as human and equal to everyone"

We believe that in helping young people to access and remain in education, and supporting refugee and migrant women to achieve their education goals and better integrate into society, we are instilling hope for a brighter future.