Education can transform lives – especially for those forced to flee their homes.
Today, more than 120 million people are displaced worldwide, including 31.6 million refugees. Among school-aged children with refugee backgrounds, half are out of education entirely. Just 42% reach secondary education and only 7% make it to university.
These young people bring vital perspectives to the world’s most urgent challenges – from conflict and climate change to inequality and inclusion. Yet systemic barriers continue to deny them the education they need to thrive and lead.
That’s why we launched the UWC Refugee Initiative in 2016, formalising our long-standing commitment to include displaced young people in our schools and colleges.
I was born and raised in a refugee camp in a remote corner of the great African desert, a place so forgotten and hard to reach. Yet, UWC made the effort to reach out, and now here I am: the first Western Saharan student to attend an Ivy League school.
What we’ve achieved
Since 2016, the UWC Refugee Initiative has supported 345 students with refugee or internally displaced backgrounds to join 18 UWC schools and colleges.
- These students represent 59 nationalities and were selected locally through UWC national committees and partner organisations in 46 countries.
- 52% are young women
- Nearly 70% come from Palestine, Syria, Tibet, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Western Sahara (Saharawi)
How you can support
The UWC Refugee Initiative is funded through donations and grants that provide full scholarships and tailored support to meet the needs of each student. This ensures that young displaced people can access a transformative education – and go on to drive change in their communities and beyond.
Make a donation to UWC’s Refugee Initiative
UWC’s response to the educational crisis in Afghanistan
The need
Since 2021, an estimated 2.2 million girls in Afghanistan have been systematically denied access to secondary education.
Our Response
In the wake of the 2021 crisis, the UWC community came together to expand access to education for young people in Afghanistan.
Through the UWC for Afghan Youth Appeal, we raised funds to provide fully funded scholarships for Afghan students to attend UWC schools and colleges around the world. These scholarships enable students to complete the two-year International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme and prepare for further study.
We also partnered with Amala and Education Cannot Wait to launch the Learning Bridge programme – a global initiative supporting displaced Afghan girls through flexible learning opportunities and community support.
Our impact since 2021
- 72% of Afghan scholars enrolled at UWC schools since 2022 are young women.
- 38 Afghan girls have attended 14 UWC schools and colleges with financial support
- 34 graduates have already progressed to university, securing scholarships at institutions including:
- Yale (US)
- Brown (US)
- Utrecht (The Netherlands)
- Bard College Berlin (Germany).
Here, I feel that every conversation liberates me from stereotypes, patriarchy and so on. Every day, I receive evidence that all people are equal but incredibly different. I am very much looking forward to learning more and experiencing new things in my life. This is a place where society will not be able to stop me from doing what I wish to do. Last but not least, I am extremely happy to be a UWC student and I extend my deep gratitude to those who have supported this opportunity for me.
Explore further
Meet Summia Tora – UWC alumna and Afghanistan’s first Rhodes Scholar
Explore their stories
