CSB: Education Gives Refugee Children Hope
By Zoe, Stephanie, Roman (Grade 11 Students) and Sean Gerard, Communications Team, UWCSEA Dover
May 2026
As part of UWCSEA’s ongoing partnership and PACE engagement with PK Cahaya Surya Bakti (CSB) in Johor, Malaysia, members of our community have had the opportunity to learn directly from the educators and students whose lives are shaped by access to education. CSB serves Rohingya refugee children who are not legally recognised and have no access to formal education system in Malaysia. This story shares the voices behind the classrooms – the founder, a student, and a teacher, and highlights why sustained support matters.
The Beginning of a Dream
What would happen if, for political and cultural reasons, you had no nationality? If living without a country also meant living without rights, without access to healthcare, safety, or education. This is the reality of thousands of Rohingya families, a community that has been displaced, silenced, and excluded for decades.
Among all the needs they face, education becomes a vital necessity. Without it, any possibility of stability and a dignified future becomes almost unreachable.
In 2009, this situation began to deeply concern Soraya Alkaff, Founder of Cahaya Surya Bakti (CSB), who was already working closely with vulnerable communities in Malaysia. She struggled to accept that, simply because they were born in the “wrong” place, young children were destined to grow up without learning to read, without understanding a language, without the opportunity to imagine a life beyond daily survival.
That concern turned into action. In 2009, she created the first Rohingya Learning Centre – an improvised space without official status, but with something just as powerful: the ability to give hope.
Children arrived without uniforms, without knowing how to write their names, and without basic routines like brushing their teeth before class. But they also arrived with curiosity, a desire to belong, and an urgent need for a safe place to learn.
Over time, it became clear that a stable, structured school with formal support was needed. This is how CSB was born — first as a grassroots initiative built almost by hand, and eventually as an institution officially recognised in 2017 with the support and in partnership with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). What began as a concern evolved into an educational project that transforms lives today.
For Soraya Alkaff, education is not about prestige or degrees.
“Education is survival and life itself. For refugees, it is not about degrees – it’s about the simple power to read, write, and move forward with dignity. Without it, hope fades. Here in CSB, we can open doors to opportunity and keep that hope alive.
As CSB grew, it began welcoming children from diverse family backgrounds, languages, and lived experiences shaped by trauma. Teaching became not only an academic responsibility, but an emotional and cultural one. One of the greatest challenges lies beyond the classroom. Many parents, shaped by generations without access to education, initially see school as a place of safety rather than a catalyst for change. Shifting that mindset – helping families see education as a possibility remains an ongoing journey.
Soraya reflects:
If I give up, it would mean giving up on the 28,000 people who depend on us. But every morning, when I see the students smile, say ‘Thank you, madam,’ when I see the children I once cared for at six years old now in university… How could I ever walk away? It’s like watching your own children grow.
If you sit with them, from the youngest to those who are already 18, every single one of them has a dream. They want to be doctors, engineers, firefighters, football players, police officers, or teachers. For the first time, they feel that their dreams can come true.
Today, CSB is more than a school. It is a bridge toward a future that once felt unreachable.
A Student’s Voice
My Dreams Were Never Meant to Exist, Until CSB Made Space for Them
By a CSB Student
I am 18 years old, and I am still studying at CSB. When people meet me today, they see a student with hopes, goals, and a dream of studying in the United States. But that dream was never part of the life I was expected to live. When I was 12 years old, my family told me I was getting married. The man was 34. I didn’t truly understand what marriage meant at that age. I remember feeling small and afraid. After the wedding, everyone called me a “wife,” but inside, I still felt like a child who wanted to learn, to play, to dream. When I was 14, my husband died. Losing him made me realise something I had never dared to think before: if my life could change once without my choice, maybe I could change it again — this time for myself. That was when I came to CSB.
I still remember my first day at school. I was scared and unsure if I belonged. But the teachers at CSB saw me as everyone else. They saw hope that I couldn’t see in myself.
One teacher told me, "You have a future. You’re allowed to dream".
No one had ever said something like that to me before.
CSB became a place where I rebuilt my life. I learned English, math, science, and, slowly, confidence. I learned to raise my hand, to ask questions, to imagine myself beyond the limits placed on me.
Now, at 18, I hold onto a dream that once felt impossible: I want to study in the United States. I want to return someday to help other girls who feel trapped the way I once did. I want them to know what I discovered at CSB: your story doesn’t end where others expect it to end. You can rewrite it.
CSB didn’t just give me an education. It gave me strength. It gave me choices. It gave me my future back.
More Than Teachers
CSB is a dynamic grassroots organisation and registered charity providing education and community support to Malaysia’s refugee population. Approximately 50,000 refugees in Malaysia are children, predominantly Rohingya, who are denied access to formal schooling. For them, education is a lifeline.
In Johor, CSB operates six schools serving more than 850 children. Students receive primary and secondary education alongside mentorship, stability, and encouragement. Importantly, CSB also creates pathways toward tertiary education abroad – one of the very few routes through which refugee youth can gain recognised qualifications and, in some cases, legal independence.
Behind every classroom is a teacher whose dedication sustains this work.
In an interview with a Primary math and science teacher at CSB, she shared: “At that time, I was at my lowest point. I’m very introverted. Teaching children changed my life.” She had joined CSB after graduating from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, seeking personal growth. What she found was purpose.
Teaching, however, comes with challenges. Language barriers are common. Some students do not understand English or Malay. Classrooms can be noisy. Students sometimes ask: “Teacher, why do I need to study?”
These questions are born from displacement and uncertainty. They make the teacher’s role as mentor just as important as educator.
“Some students are shy at first, but over time they become more open,” she says. “They help each other learn, and slowly they trust us. That is the most meaningful part – watching them grow.”
This is where PACE funding becomes critical. Sustained support allows CSB to retain teachers, expand secondary education, provide learning materials, and maintain safe environments. Every teacher who stays ensures children can continue learning and dreaming.
Their hope is raw and real. Their potential is undeniable. With continued support, CSB can continue transforming lives – one classroom, and one child, at a time.
A documentary by Grade 11 students Aman and Alex exploring the transformative power of education and hope at CSB.