Youth Congress Rohingya (YCR) is a Rohingya youth organization, founded in December 2018 with the mission to preserve justice and peace within the community, represent the community’s needs to the international community, foster education, and improve general knowledge, and build a harmonious and peaceful community. YCR is a camp-based Rohingya-led civil society in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh. There are 18 youth members representing different refugee camps and 4 International Volunteer Research Advisors. Due to the fact that our main activities are politically related, focusing on the rights of Rohingya refugees, our members keep a very low profile and are not publicly visible. We prefer to remain anonymous due to the threats that can arise from advocating for the rights of our community.
Since its founding in December 2018, YCR has been carrying out different activities in the community. Our teachers regularly conduct home-based classes to teach Rohingya students and conduct training on multiple topics such as leadership, Peacebuilding, Human rights, communication skills, time management, Refugee Protection, Trauma informed care, Community development and problem-solving to the community youth and elders including women. Our researchers conduct advocacy sessions according to the level of need and situational context. Our advocacy work is focused on freedom of movement, accountability for Human rights violations, Right to return and safe repatriation, higher education for Rohingya Youths and students, Livelihood opportunities, Humanitarian Aid and International support and justice mechanisms.
Our female members conduct empowerment and life skills training within the community, particularly to empower our less sophisticated women and girls with general knowledge and handicrafts.
When there is any emergency such as a fire or flooding in the camps, our team intervenes by providing emergency community-led responses to the affected victims. We collect contributions and donations from individual donors to support such survivors, at least with their basic needs. Our team members have been engaged with referring different categories of beneficiaries to different relevant humanitarian sectors.
Activities:
- Studying politically related issues that impact the Rohingya community.
- Disseminating important findings related to Rohingya rights and other important topics.
- Educating the community through shelter-based classes.
- Empowering the community by training Rohingya youths, including rape victims and widows.
- Advocating for the Human rights of the Rohingya community.
