Celebrating the E3 journey
“I truly appreciate JRS and the team for giving us the chance to learn new skills. I look forward to opportunities to join more courses — this has been helpful and useful for our future and a stepping stone to build our careers.” ~ Mr Atif, 25 years old from Afghanistan.
Education for Economic Empowerment — E3 officially began in July 2021 with the aim of providing valuable digital skills training to refugee communities in the region. We started with five programmes with our academic partners M.A.D. School and Cisco Academy. Today, we have eight programmes and are still growing!
Over the past years, we recognize the importance of continuous planning and timely reviews to ensure that the programme and skills taught remain relevant. Being in touch with our refugee students and collaborating with like-minded academic partners like M.A.D. school have kept us updated with the growing landscape of the digital space.
As of December 2024, E3 has reached over 703 participants, with programmes maintaining an average attendance rate of 98%, and 43% of the graduates are female. The training is conducted online, with students and trainers logging in from different parts of the region. We first began E3 in collaboration with our JRS Thailand and JRS Indonesia local offices. Today, we are happy to have extended our programmes to include under-served communities in Malaysia, East Africa, Philippines and Myanmar, bringing energy and diversity to every session. Animated discussions and shared experiences have become the heartbeat of our virtual classrooms.
“I really enjoyed the interactive discussions and the opportunity to collaborate with classmates. The online format allowed for a diverse range of perspectives to be shared, which made the learning experience richer.” ~ Ms Annie, 24 years old from Pakistan.
The impact goes far beyond numbers. Trainers, volunteers, and business partners have built lasting connections with our students — some even visiting them in their host countries or sending gifts to celebrate their achievements.
E3 – a programme for refugees, by refugees
From day one, a key goal was to empower the individuals in the refugee community with certified digital/IT skills and to prepare them for sustainable livelihood opportunities. The programme has also engaged some of its graduates as interns, training them to support and co-ordinate the digital programmes and curate foundational IT workshops for new participants. These interns are involved throughout the process from creation to completion.
As the programme lead, I communicate with our interns on a daily basis, and we work remotely as a team. Many interns are new to the working environment, but I see their determination and drive to learn; to give back to their community and support the operation of the programmes. I am extremely proud of their professional growth and humbled by their resilience.
In the blink of an eye, three years have passed, and we have come to the end of the grant which enabled us to initiate this digital education programme. On behalf of JRS, I would like to express our gratitude for the generosity and trust from our donor, the Diana Koh Foundation and support from the Community Foundation of Singapore, which has tirelessly facilitated the funding process.
Recalling the words of the late Pope Francis, “spread the wealth of charity, share our bread and multiply love”. He called on everyone to remember the underserved, the marginalised, the victims of war, refugees… We thank our donors, academic partners, volunteers, mentors who stepped up to partner with us on this journey. We could not have done it alone!
We pray to continue and sustain the work that lies ahead — that E3 remains a beacon of opportunity, equipping refugees with the skills they need to thrive in a digital world.
A reflection by Crisleen de Guzman, JRS Singapore Programme Lead.