Many years ago, Ismatullah Ahmadi was living in his hometown of Jaghori in the province of Ghazni, Afghanistan. There, he enjoyed a comfortable existence as a successful entrepreneur. Known to everyone as Esmat, he owned and managed a shoe factory, where he employed anywhere between 80 to 100 people. “I had a perfect life in my hometown,” he says. “I was doing my business. I was never thinking that one day I may leave all those opportunities [and] what I had.” He never expected how unsafe his hometown would become.

On a warm day in South Jakarta, Mehdi and Azam arrive at Roshan Learning Center, their youngest daughter Zhina in tow. There are smiles and warm greetings as they enter the room. While Zhina, age 4, busies herself with whatever activities can be found in the Lower Primary classroom, the couple gets settled in to chat and reflect about their time at Roshan.

“Refugees are like birds who are not able to fly,” Wajiha says. “The birds who are in search of a shelter for safety and the place where they can heal their broken wings.”

Wajiha’s words capture the sense of hopelessness and despair many refugees experience upon coming to Indonesia. Thousands have come in search of safety, yet find themselves facing a challenging reality. Refugees are unable to work or study, live with financial difficulties, struggle with their mental health – and on top of it all, must undergo the long wait for resettlement.

Mohammad Asadi, Ali Sina, and Ali Akbar are often mistaken as brothers – and it is easy to see why.

The young men shared many similarities. All three were either 19 or 20 years old. They spoke the same language. They shared the same home country of Afghanistan. They loved playing futsal together.

The first time Moon arrived at Roshan, classes were already full of students and the team was unsure where to put these two eager new young girls. “Please, I need to continue to learn,” Moon remembers saying to Ms. Ariane whom she met on the first day. Moon remembers saying, “Give me a chance, I can just sit outside of the classroom on the floor and take notes.” Her remarkable spirit and determination to keep learning were so clear that she was soon admitted as a Secondary student.

Education can be a complicated web of theory, practice, logistics, and curriculum. Yet, for refugee families that have experienced more than their share of challenges, education is the “simple” priority and focus. This was certainly the case for Abolfazel’s father, who chose Roshan for his children time and time again. Today, he sees his decision shining through as he watches his son Abolfazel budding with hope.

Does kindness heal? Does it have the power to do that? Kindness and healing are two different words that find each other time and again in the cycle of life. It is what we have witnessed at our home, Roshan. At Roshan, people have found healing through serving and being a part of a tight-knit community they can call their own.

Do you remember what it was like to be in middle school? Take a moment and picture yourself at 13 years old. You are becoming more aware of your surroundings, your friends and you start to think more about your identity apart from your family. You are growing up. It’s a lot to navigate with everyone watching and waiting to see how you turn out.

Homesick and unable to return home due to political conditions in Afghanistan, Shir Afzal did not have much to turn to when he first landed in Indonesia. After arriving as a refugee, he was alone and unsure about his future.

At Roshan, we always say that the “impact” of our work is first and foremost, the changing of lives—beyond academic progress or the number of students served. Join us as we share stories about how kindness is bearing fruit all around Roshan.

Roshan brought me many things, it made my biggest dream come true as well as gave me a sense of belonging, community, and togetherness. It gave me hope that I desperately needed.

We believe that all refugee children in the greater Jakarta area deserve access to a safe, clean space to play and learn. In reality, however, most live in isolation in small apartments or boarding rooms (kosts), and do not have access to child-friendly spaces. Roshan, and as many as nine other refugee-led learning centers in the greater Jakarta area, have stepped up to fill the gap and provide learning opportunities and support for these children.

The GED Support Program at Roshan continued to grow over 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Most refugee students had not thought of doing any formal education during their time in Indonesia, but this support program has enabled many to see and experience brighter futures while they wait.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit Jakarta, the Roshan community was faced with yet another disruption to their lives. While moving instruction online seemed like the most appropriate step, which many other schools had taken swiftly, the question for us was how do we do this with the constraints that we have?

My father was a shoemaker. All through the springtime of his life he worked tirelessly day and night to make enough money to provide his family with food and a roof over their heads. He lived a very simple life and gave up everything for us to see our happiness, which meant everything to him.

One year ago my biggest surprise came true. After four and a half years of waiting for resettlement in Indonesia, the United States accepted me as a refugee. I felt I was in a dream. I was in shock and wondering if the United States and International Organization of Migration had made a mistake. I had waited for this moment for a long time and now it was finally here.

When Roshan’s collaboration with Elite Open School started in August 2019, Faiza was part of our first cohort of students. Her journey has been nothing short ofWhen I first left my country I did not think about the fact that I will be called a “refugee.” I was too worried about our safety as my mind played out all of the scenarios of things that could go wrong. We may get caught and deported, or worse, end up in jail. With my two younger siblings and mother, none of whom speak any language other than our own, I could feel the weight of responsibility on my shoulders. inspiring.

When Roshan’s collaboration with Elite Open School started in August 2019, Faiza was part of our first cohort of students. Her journey has been nothing short of inspiring.

In 2019, Roshan launched our Paving Access to Higher Education (PATH) initiative. By forming partnerships with Sampoerna University and providing various forms of support to candidates, our initiative seeks to facilitate the enrollment and success of refugees in university while they wait for resettlement.

In line with our efforts to create a safe, healing and learning environment, Roshan has been working to integrate Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) into our curriculum and teaching. SEL involves the development of emotional self-regulation, positive relationship-building, goal-setting, and encouraging other healthy behaviors. We believe that SEL will better equip our students to deal with life’s challenges, helping them to heal and become more resilient.