Bridges for Hope

Access to Learning & Growth Opportunities

Students working on laptops during the Refugee Digital Skills Course

Refugee Digital Skills Course

In 2024, Bridges for Hope secured Peace First’s Activation Grant of USD 1,000 and launched its inaugural Refugee Digital Skills Course, a three-month program covering Microsoft basics, digital marketing, and recruitment fundamentals. Following the baseline research, the course generated strong interest, with sixteen refugees registering during the enrollment period. Successfully conducted from July to October 2024, the course welcomed six students from Afghanistan, Congo, and Somalia. We witnessed firsthand the students’ growth – from initially being unable to operate a laptop to confidently creating documents using Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. One student shared that he had learned many new and useful skills, which he plans to apply to start his own business.

Participants in the Refugee AI Upskilling Workshop

Refugee AI Upskilling Workshop

A two-day AI Upskilling Workshop featuring sessions on Introduction to AI and Ethics, AI for Education, AI for Skills and Opportunities, and AI for Content Creation. The workshop attracted 41 registrants, reflecting a 156% increase in participation, and directly impacted five refugee learners from Palestine, Myanmar, Somalia, and Yemen. The post-workshop survey indicated that over half of the participants experienced an increase in their knowledge of AI and reported high levels of satisfaction with the workshop. One participant shared, “Overall, I had a really good time and learned a lot of new things during the workshop.

Artwork created during the Refugee Creative Learning Program

Refugee Creative Learning Program

A two-day program exploring foundational art and photography skills under the themes of hope, dreams, empowerment, identity, self-discovery, and community, held in commemoration of World Refugee Day. The event brought together 5 Indonesian and 10 refugee youth participants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Congo, and Somalia. The Stories Through Art Workshop received an overall satisfaction rating of 4.75/5.00, while the Photography Lab received 4.80/5.00. All artworks produced were subsequently displayed at the World Refugee Day Art Exhibition, held in collaboration with UNHCR Indonesia.