Over one million Rohingya refugees are in camps in Bangladesh, forced to flee a brutal campaign of genocide. This presentation discusses how a Canadian volunteer-based initiative has been working with the Rohingya and other displaced communities in Bangladesh, and has set up various low-cost educational initiatives including digital learning to reduce the gap of educational access for people living in camps, particularly with the effects of COVID. The session discusses the context of the work, successes and challenges of these projects and, most importantly, keeping hope in the midst of trying circumstances.

Shujaat Wasty has volunteered extensively in refugee camps and initiated programs for the provision of food and health services, clean water and sanitation, and education which have helped thousands of people in some of the most impoverished communities in South Asia and elsewhere during the past 14 years. He holds a Master's in Educational Technology from Concordia University and completed his doctoral studies at Middlesex University. He is the founder of OBAT Canada, a volunteer-based charity, and previously served on the Leadership Council at McGill University’s Institute for the Study of International Development (ISID)