Raiyan is 10 years old and a student in a school supported by Children on the Edge in the Rohingya Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh. He has learnt a lot since starting school and is now working at level 2. He concentrates hard in his lessons and is naturally very creative. When his teacher tells a story or describes something that has happened to the class, Raiyan immediately starts imagining it.
It’s hard for him being limited to living in the camp and only hearing about what happens outside, but it doesn’t stop him having hopes for the future. When he grows up, Raiyan wants to be an airplane pilot. He says that every night he sees planes flying south to north and is amazed by the blinking lights in the night sky. He had always wondered how airplanes fly, what’s inside them, and how people sit in them. Recently, all these questions were answered when he was able to watch a documentary about airplanes at his Learning Centre. The video has not only made him more curious but more determined to fly in a plane one day, or better still become a pilot.
The digital programme in Kutupalong gives students access to experiences and knowledge from around the world and enables them to have interaction with other children outside the camp. It tackles language barriers, encourages creativity and brings lessons alive.