Deborah Henry is wearing Valentino
Cover Deborah Henry is wearing Valentino

The founder of Fugee School for refugee children has Nelson Mandela to thank for sparking her humanitarian mission

Nelson Mandela once said that education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. This is precisely what drives humanitarian Deborah Henry, who has dedicated her life to ensuring refugee children in Malaysia are given equal access to education via Fugee School, which she established in 2009 for this very reason.

Looking back, it seems that 12 years have passed in the blink of an eye. Starting off with providing basic math and English lessons to four children from the Somali refugee community, the school has grown tremendously and now provides a holistic academic education as well as creative and life skills to equip their 200 students aged 4 to 20 years old with the right tools and opportunities for a better life for themselves and their families.

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'gallery right' 'gallery right'
Photo 1 of 2 Deborah Henry is wearing Louis Vuitton
Photo 2 of 2 Deborah Henry is wearing top by Loewe, jacket and skirt by Gucci, and boots by Louis Vuitton

In spite of the pandemic raging on, Fugee School continues to be kept open as Henry believes it’s important to keep the children mentally stimulated and to have a routine.

“We’re very blessed that we’ve got a good team and so we’re able to keep it to a certain standard,” she says. “It’s also important to remember that a lot of these families, like any marginalised family, tend to live in a much smaller space and don’t have the luxury of having different rooms in the house. So if the kids did not have school and a routine, especially in challenging times like this, it would really be mentally dire for them and their families. Plus most of these have no laptops or tablets, they only have phones which they all share, presenting challenges to online learning."

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Above Deborah Henry is wearing Dior

Recognising the need to help their students pursue higher education, the school established the Fugee HiEd Scholarship, the first scholarship fund for refugees in Malaysia in line with the UNHCR’s road map to reach 15 per cent enrolment by 2030.

Having been in the education space for over a decade, Henry, 36, has seen the barriers and limitations that prevent an individual who has a desire to learn to do more and be more. For the refugee community in Malaysia, they live here but are not allowed to work legally nor given access to education. The staunch refugee and children’s rights advocate says: “There are very deserving refugees in this country who are capable and want to pursue tertiary education. They have dreams to be an engineer, a nurse, teacher or businessman. But it was hard to figure out where to go, as a lot of places don’t accept refugees. Plus it’s expensive, and they don’t have money.”

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There are very deserving refugees in this country who are capable and want to pursue tertiary education. They have dreams to be an engineer, a nurse, teacher or businessman.

- Deborah Henry -

With a goal to sponsor five students, they’re hoping to raise around RM160,000 this year. When talking to their corporate partners, Henry tells them that investing in a person is about investing in change for tomorrow. “I really do believe hugely in education. It’s the greatest gift you can give someone. You’re teaching them self-reliance, you’re empowering them to then further empower their family, and very often when somebody gets a tertiary degree, chances are their kids will end up going to college or university as well. So really, you’re not helping one life, you’re changing outcomes for generations to come.”

She recalls those early days when she first started Fugee School, only 24 then. Armed with a political science and economics degree, her exposure to the Miss Malaysia World beauty pageant led her to discover her calling in helping the refugee community and their children.

“The idea that we can live in a world with so much, yet people literally live with less than little, seemed very unfair to me,” she says. “That’s me, I see something I think that needs to change and I do it and figure things out along the way. Fast forward 11 years, it’s 2021 and I’m still here having the same conversation. It’s frustrating, it’s exhausting, it’s stressful. But when you see the human life that benefits from it...”

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Above Deborah Henry with the refugee children at Fugee School (Photo: Courtesy of Deborah Henry)

Change doesn’t necessarily happen in your lifetime, she says. You sow the seeds for what’s to come. And that’s exactly what Henry is talking about when investing in change for tomorrow.

She has seen first-hand how education has broken barriers for refugee families, giving them a semblance of hope and opportunity. “These refugee children in Malaysia, they’re not going to live here forever; they’re going to get resettled to another country or they’re going back to their countries, such as Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Myanmar; so we need to equip them to think differently. They’re going to be the peace builders, they’re going to be the ones to start new businesses and lift their people out of poverty.”

See also: Refugees In Malaysia: 5 Moving Tales Of Triumph From Activist Heidy Quah

Fully aware of the xenophobic sentiments seeing them as illegals and quit the fear mongering as it only leads to animosity, aggression and violence. “We have to stop seeing everything through race, religion or nationality—this is a humanity issue. When you understand that refugees fled because of persecution and war, quite frankly you and I would do the same thing if we were in that situation.”

So what is the point, for this thing that we call a school? It’s teaching children how to be good citizens. And then ask yourself what does being a good citizen mean in today’s world? It’s about tolerance, acceptance, respect.

- Deborah Henry -

And this is where education comes into play. But the question that remains is this: what are we really teaching our kids, and with all the knowledge we can glean from the internet, is school necessary?

“In today’s world, with technology and the internet, I can probably teach my kid at some point to teach themselves online. So what is the point, for this thing that we call a school? It’s teaching children how to be good citizens. And then ask yourself what does being a good citizen mean in today’s world? It’s about tolerance, acceptance, respect. Even at Fugee School we teach subjects like global perspectives and global understanding; we also teach unity and diversity.

“So if you want change, you want it to be about tolerance and understanding, unity and diversity. It has to go beyond Satu Malaysia slogans at a very high level. For me, we need to build a generation of children who are capable to have these conversations, and come from a place of compassion and understanding. I can say this because I work with children who have come from war, who have lost family members, who have had other tribes shoot at them and try to kill them.”

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She urges the youth to ask themselves what they’re doing to be that change in this country. We need to get rid of that mentality of entitlement and ask: Is there somebody else more deserving? What does justice and equity look like in this country? Who are the people that really need help, and how do we help them? If you do, and take action, she says that “you will see shifts in schools, in companies, in social organisations that will push our government to listen to the people’s voices. We’re telling them, hey guys, we’re not waiting anymore, we’re doing it.”

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Credits

Photography  

Chee Wei

Styling  

Sarah Saw

Hair  

Gavin Soh

Make-Up  

KF Bong

Location  

Tatler House, Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur

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