British Pakistani Christian Association partnered with Full Gospel Church Internationl to open a school for asylum seeker children in Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia
and successfully inaugurated the school on 21st September 2016.
The school caters for 25 children currently but is growing rapidly after we gain certification from the UNHCR. UNHCR registered schools receive
little funded but are provided with protection such as an arrest and detainment free zone for asylum seekers around the school perimeter ensuring parents
and children are safe.
Pk-Christian Asylum seekers in Malysia fare beter then thise in Thailand few are detained and many have obtained illegal employment. This is not so
much due to the Government but more so due to the many successful Malaysian Christians who provide a lot of support to the asylum seeker community.
However irrespective of the ostensibly more settled lives then counterparts in Thailand asylum seekers in Malaysia have no legal status despite UNHCR
registration. This is because like Thailand Malaysia also is not signatory to UN Conventions for asylum. Moreover some Pakistani Christians have
been detained and worse still some deported. The UNHCR in Malaysia however seems to have a good relationship with the Malaysian Government and concessions
such as non-arrest zones around school are just one of the agreements in place.
Pastor Paul Ghalib heads up the asylum seeker school and is himself registered with the UNHCR as an asylum seeker. As a Christin convert from Islam
in Pakistan he soon found it impossible to continue living in Pakistan, due to threats received by his family. He is joined by a team of four volunteers
including Arish and Sanam Chowdhry and Sawera and Nadeem Kamran.
The current school syllabus follow the Cambridge model and subjects such as English, Maths, Science, Art and P.E. are regularly taught at he school.
The advantage our school has over over asylum seeker schools in Malaysia is the provision of 15 computers that were donated by a Christian charity
that primarily works in Africa. BPCA sent these computers and has initiated an adult computing learning centre in tandem with computer classes for
children.
Our school currently provides learning for children of kindagarten age to grade 6 and all the teachers have a minimum of a Masters level for education.
This ensures the quality of learning provision meets the highest of standards and is well above the expected levels for asylum children.
The school has now been in operation for over 3 months and we are praying that UNHCR accreditation will be received any day soon as we have now completed
there gestation period.
Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the BPCA, said:
“Life can be hard for asylum seekers in any nation, having to uproot from settled lives and live on the edge of despair in another land is traumatic. However, the worst affected in most cases are children who have limited if any access to education and no opportunity to improve their situation or future.
“Our school for asylum seekers provides spiritual and academic learning and has improved the morale of students exponentially. By taking them on school trips and providing classes in the Malay tongue we also help our students gain acceptance and a sense of belonging to the nation they are in whether their stay is temporary or permanent – as no=one can guess their future in this changing world.”
We would like to hire a driver for the school as we believe that with a pick and drop service we are able to increase the number of pupils at the school. To do so we need to raise a further £150 per month. If you are moved to assist with such finance you can donate by clicking (here)
