The UN blueprint, the Global Compact for Refugees, has education as one of its top priorities. But despite this, many adolescents are excluded from schools and denied a proper education when they are forced to flee.

In episode two, we focus on this crisis of education, and compare the plight of young refugees who have settled in Bangladesh and Jordan.

We speak to Yasin*, a 14 year old refugee who currently lives in a two-room tent with seven members of his family in Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh. After his home was burnt down in Myanmar, his family moved to a refugee camp and now he has no access to school.

We also meet Layla*, a 14 year old Syrian refugee now living in Amman, Jordan. Layla has been participating in UNICEF’s Makani community programme which provides education, child protection services and psychosocial support along with life skills to children in crisis.

We look at what is needed in order to turn young adolescent lives around, the resources available to refugee’s and what we can do to improve the current situation.

Future episodes will be released every other Monday. Subscribe to ODI podcasts through your preferred podcast app to get notified. You can also listen to all episodes as they are released on ODI’s soundcloud channel.

Speakers in this episode:

1. Sara Al Heiwidi, GAGE Jordan qualitative researcher
2. Kenan Madi, Makani Programme Manager, UNICEF Jordan
3. Khadija Mitu, GAGE Bangladesh qualitative researcher, University of Chittagong
4. Dr Nicola Jones, ODI Principal Research Fellow and GAGE Director
5. Layla*, a 14 year old Syrian refugee living in Amman
6. Yasin*, a 14 year old refugee living with his family in Cox’s Bazaar

*The names are pseudonyms to protect individual adolescent identities