Sajida

Over half of the 700,000 Rohingya refugees are children

Over 700,000 Rohingya people have fled Myanmar since August 2017, escaping unimaginable horrors - shootings, rapes and abuses.

Crossing the border into Bangladesh, most arrived in a state of shock, grief and exhaustion, carrying nothing but the clothes on their back. Now, they are battling the daily challenges of life in the cramped and unsanitary refugee camps. More than half of those living in the camps are children.

Many families are reliant on food rations to survive. They need access to safe water and healthcare. Three in four children are out of school. And there is a major risk of an outbreak of disease.

Sajida* fled persecution and violence in Myanmar with her family. She was hungry and scared, and she saw a man shot. They waited for days at the border to get on a boat to Bangladesh.

“We suffered a lot while fleeing Myanmar. We were scared when they chased us. They shot a man before our very eyes. It took 10 days to reach Bangladesh. For three days, we didn’t eat. Some people died in the heat. We were so scared.”

Sajida is now living in a refugee settlement in Bangladesh. She has hope for the future. She is learning to read and write and has made new friends that she can play with and share her stories.

Save the Children is on the ground, ensuring children are safe, cared for and learning. We’ve built health facilities, where we're treating sick and injured children and supporting the safe delivery of newborns. We've installed toilets and bathing units, and are distributing essential hygiene items so children can keep clean and healthy.

We're providing emotional and psychosocial support to children to help them come to terms with the traumatic experiences they've been through.

We've also set up temporary learning centres and are distributing teaching and learning materials so children can continue to learn. And, we've set up Child and Girl Friendly Spaces where children can learn, play and be children again.