[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” theme_builder_area=”post_content” _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_fullwidth_image src=”https:\/\/mirps-platform.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image00003_11-scaled.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” title_text=”image00003_11″ max_height=”500px” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_fullwidth_image][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” custom_margin=”-60px||||false|false” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ text_font_size=”45px” text_line_height=”1.2em” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Fostering Education Opportunities for asylum seekers in Southern Belize<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#424242″ text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n In Belize, 10 young asylum seekers had the opportunity to further their studies at a technical\/vocational institution.<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” type=”3_5″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n The alarm jolts Joe* awake. It\u2019s 4:00 am, and the 20-year-old asylum seeker gets up to get ready for school. He walks for twenty minutes on a quiet dirt road, grateful for the opportunity to experience peace in his new community. When he gets to the bus stop, his classmates are waiting for the bus that will get them to Stann Creek\u2019s Institute for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ITVET). It\u2019s about a two-and-a-half-hour trip each day, but it\u2019s a sacrifice that they are happy to make.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Joe is one of 10 young adult asylum seekers in Belize who have been given the opportunity to go back to school after their high school studies were interrupted when they were suddenly forced to flee their homes because of violence. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe couldn’t stay there because it was totally unsafe,\u201d Joe recalls. \u201cWhen a threat like this arrives, the only thing that follows is death. It is something serious. It\u2019s not easy. I was in my last year of high school, and I wasn\u2019t able to finish because we just couldn’t survive in that place anymore.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Selena*, a 17-year-old asylum seeker from Honduras, couldn\u2019t finish high school after a group of gang members burst into her family home and murdered her brother. Following this, both she and her other family members received numerous threats to their lives and fled to Belize in search of safety. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI feel very happy to have been able to go back to school\u201d shares Selena. \u201cI didn\u2019t think I would be able to study anymore until I received this opportunity, and I am very grateful for it.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After a year of overcoming the challenges of learning in a new schooling system and in an unfamiliar language, the students are graduating with a technical diploma that is the equivalent of a high school degree.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” type=”2_5″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/mirps-platform.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/CapturaBEL.png” _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” title_text=”CapturaBEL” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-48px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, this should be an opportunity that all asylum seekers are able to receive in order to have a better future and to be able to find a good job,\u201d says Selena.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Close to half of the world\u2019s refugee children \u2013 48 percent \u2013 remain out of school. UNHCR in Belize, along with Government and local partners, works to ensure education is accessible for all children and young people, including asylum seekers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n *All names have been changed to protect the asylum seeker students’ confidentiality<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”24.6px”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_video _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/MqOwjh4MNT8″ width=”60%” module_alignment=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_video][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fostering Education Opportunities for asylum seekers in Southern Belize\u00a0In Belize, 10 young asylum seekers had the opportunity to further their studies at a technical\/vocational institution.\u00a0The alarm jolts Joe* awake. It\u2019s 4:00 am, and the 20-year-old asylum seeker gets up to get ready for school. He walks for twenty minutes on a quiet dirt road, grateful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":56997,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-59920","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n