Once a Dream, Now a Reality
With four graduates at the end of 2019, the GED support program at Roshan continued to grow over 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic. There were ten more students graduating, the Roshan GED alumni number is only growing. 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 I successfully passed all four subjects of GED within six months of intensive self study, at the end of 2019 I had a hope for my higher education. A year later, in 2020 I got an amazing opportunity to enroll in the Associate Degree of Broward College through their Indonesian partner University—Sampoerna University. If I had not had a GED Diploma, studying during transit would be just a dream for me as it is for many other refugees.”
“Getting the GED diploma has helped me get into college,” explains Nafisa, who completed her GED studies in June 2020. She is currently a freshman studying International Relations and Development at LCC International University in hopes to further continue her education by doing her Masters in the future. Nafisa mentions that though university studies are more consuming than GED studies, GED has definitely helped her become more familiar with different topics in the English language having studied in Farsi in her home country.
The majority of Roshan students join the GED Support Program to prepare themselves for university opportunities. Roshan is determined to continue supporting its students to access new pathways of higher education with the support of its generous partners.
Though Roshan had to physically close down because of the pandemic, it continued to support students remotely and give the adequate support that students needed to pass their exams. Nafisa, who was studying for one of the subjects online says, “Online is obviously different from in-person classes however the topics were interesting and the material was engaging therefore I had a good experience with online classes.”
“It's been a really long and hard journey yet exciting and challenging. I discovered my weak and strong points through learning GED. With my GED Diploma, now I can be able to apply for universities abroad and reach a higher level of education and improve my life and my family later on in the future. Thank you Roshan for giving me this opportunity that no one ever would have given to me.”
“Because I have done GED, I am able to apply for a university. GED has helped me with building my future. With my GED diploma I can now have a stronger CV for my future job. During the time I studied for GED I was able to learn much more. With the GED I hope that I can build a better future for myself and my family.”
Mozhdeh, another GED graduate, is now giving back to the community by helping other students prepare for GED and playing a role in creating pathways for others. “What GED did for me was that it opened the doors of opportunities to me: from getting into university to applying for a job, or being a GED mentor. Now that I have my GED certificate my goal is to help as many as the students to get their degree and be hopeful that they can reach their dreams.” Mozhdeh is just one example at Roshan students taking the role of teaching to support others.
For Musa, who has been the GED Program Manager working tirelessly to serve students in the program, it is exciting to see how many young refugees are attracted to join the program. And, the most encouraging sign of progress over the past two years has been witnessing a group of refugees earning their high school diploma and enrolling in international universities, which was not possible a few years ago. This is indeed true: Roshan has brought hope to many students who are able to continue their education through the GED even while living in limbo. “I hope we can expand this program in all the cities in Indonesia where refugees are located and they also can get their high school diploma,” Musa adds.
“What GED did for me was that it opened the doors of opportunities to me: from getting into university to applying for a job, or being a GED mentor.”
