Brothers Aind and Dlir, residents of the Arbat refugee camp in Iraqi Kurdistan, attended their first Hello Future courses when they were 15 and 17 years old, respectively. Dlir’s path through Hello Future’s courses resulted in him building skills -- digital, communications, design thinking -- and received a scholarship to the American University of Iraq in Sulaimani, where he is majoring in Computer Science with a business minor.

As refugee crises drag on and time in camps evolves into the new normal, long-term needs are often left uncared for. This is an especially dangerous reality for teenagers, who are at a critical time in their educational development and at risk of seeing their dreams disappear forever.

Aba strives to use his own experience as a refugee to help our students forge their own paths forward. He focuses on trust and respect and encourages our students to learn with and from each other.

Many programs that provide for refugee education fail to make it past the pilot stage. The lack of incentive to replicate a program at scale and the inability to measure tangible success halt successful programs in their tracks and refugee youth are the ones who pay the price.

After escaping conflict and violence, many refugees are unable to attend traditional school for years. NGOs and program leaders must devise innovative ways of providing accessible, portable, creative education to those affected by displacement.

STEM education has been heralded as the education of the future. In the context of refugee education, this means pushing science and technology on vulnerable youth instead of teaching them a wide range of soft and hard skills to prepare them for their future. This has implications for individuals and communities at large, as groups of students are graduating with a niche set of skills only useful in specific contexts.

Refugees suffer from a lack of educational opportunities. After escaping violence in their home, education is rarely prioritized above safety. Refugees who are lucky enough to find a new school are taught a different curriculum in a different language with a new set of academic expectations. These unique circumstances set the stage for the majority of refugee education.

Hamrin is always eager in the classroom, creative with her artwork, and driven to become an entrepreneur in the future. Her presence encourages her peers to work harder and believe in themselves.

Ayend has the same hobbies as most teenage boys: gaming, reading, and watching his favorite shows. He is also a refugee. Through our courses, Ayend grasped an understanding of the internet and used it to find college scholarships.

Helin was only 10 years old when she, her four siblings, and her parents fled their home in Hasakah, Syria. Since joining our program in 2016, she built her confidence and developed a strong competitive edge.