Kohinur Akter’s Journey to Learning Rohingya Script
At ESDR’s learning center, 13-year-old Kohinur Akter carefully traces letters in the Rohingya Hanifi script. Though she is a school-going student, this is the first time she has learned to read and write her own native language. Like nearly all Rohingya children, Kohinur grew up speaking and understanding Rohingya fluently—but without access to literacy in […]
Hamid Ullah: Keeper of Stories
With a notebook filled with carefully recorded stories and a voice recorder capturing elderly voices, Hamid Ullah works tirelessly to preserve the cultural heritage of his community. Through ESDR’s cultural preservation program, this 30-year-old has become the community’s official historian and storyteller. Hamid recognized that displacement threatened not just physical security but cultural continuity. “Our […]
Rukhsana Khatun: Literacy for All
In a circle of determined women holding pencils and notebooks, Rukhsana Khatun guides her students through their first written words. As an adult literacy coordinator through ESDR’s education program, she has helped over 200 women learn to read and write, opening doors to independence and self-advocacy. Rukhsana understands her students’ challenges because she faced them […]