Giving Compass' Take:

• Joseph Munyambanza, a young refugee in western Uganda, created Coburwas, a successful school for other refugee students that had a similar upbringing to his own.

• How can philanthropists help communicate and potentially fund refugee schools like Coburwas in Uganda?

• Read about how to get involved to help respond to the Refugee crisis.

When he arrived at this United Nations camp in western Uganda in 1997, Joseph Munyambanza had been able to attend only poor-quality schools.

Eight years later, he and other young refugee students wanted to help children who also faced dismal education prospects, so they started a club with activities focusing on education.

In 2009, they expanded that effort to create their own school called Coburwas – a combination of Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda and Sudan, the countries of origin for many of the refugees in the camp. Today, Coburwas has 530 primary and secondary students.

Today, Coburwas is one of the best-performing schools in Uganda, ranking among the top four schools in the country on national examinations, according to the Ugandan Education Ministry. Coburwas has also been designated an Ashoka Changemaker School by the global nonprofit group Ashoka, which recognizes citizen-led innovations in education and other social institutions, and its students have received awards from the American Refugee Committee and other organizations.

Since it started, Coburwas has moved more than 800 students from primary into secondary school. More than 40 of its students now attend universities around the world; five, having earned university degrees, have returned to work full-time in the camp.

“We recognize the power of education as a way out of poverty, as well as a means to heal conflict, create social cohesion and spur economic growth,” said Munyambanza, who is now 27.

“I want to work hard, pass exams and be like him,” said Susan Uwineza, a 19-year-old refugee from Rwanda who arrived at the camp in the early 2000s with her parents. “When other refugees excel in education and they succeed in life, it really motivates us. We realize that through education you can never be called a refugee forever.”

Read the full article about school for refugees by Tonny Onyulo at News Deeply