The Amala High School Diploma

I am the Co-founder and Co-Executive Director of Amala, an organisation that brings together my desire to work with refugees and belief that education is the most powerful way to create social change. I have previously worked for UWC (United World Colleges) in programme management. While studying Arabic at university, I had the opportunity to live and study in Syria from 2010-2011, and as I saw Syrian friends and classmates having to leave the country, I witnessed first hand the importance of providing high quality education in a refugee crisis. Three years ago, I left my job at UWC to make Amala and our vision to create the first international high school diploma for refugees a reality.

Globally, only 24% of refugees have access to secondary education. Challenges like language barriers, lack of local education system capacity and the need to work, continue to keep millions of young refugees out of school. Through the Amala High School Diploma, we are committed to addressing this acute lack of secondary education opportunities for young people who are displaced. 

Our pioneer cohort comprises 25 students in Amman, Jordan, who began the 15-month programme in June, 2020. We aim to create a successful precedent to expand our reach across the world and impact many more young refugees. Our project will elevate humanity by giving young refugees a unique opportunity to finish their high school education, equipping them with key 21st century skills that will enable them to not only pursue further education, work and entrepreneurship opportunities, but also to utilise their knowledge and skills to make change within their own communities.

We aim to solve the acute lack of high quality secondary education for refugee youth. As of 2019, 79.5 million people, 1% of the world, are displaced. It is estimated that this number will reach 250 million by 2030. On average, a refugee spends 17 years in displacement - only 24% of displaced youth have access to secondary education, and in low income countries where the majority of refugees live, this drops to 9%. 

Key challenges preventing refugee youth from accessing secondary education include lack of capacity in the local education system, strict age requirements in public school systems that exclude young refugees who have turned 16 or 18, the need to work or family responsibilities, and language barriers. 

This means that refugee youth risk becoming a lost generation without agency, unable to access further opportunities. Amala seeks to solve this problem by developing the first international high school diploma for refugee youth. This programme enables out of school refugee youth to return to education and gain a high school diploma. Our flexible learning programme welcomes students of a wide age range and the part-time nature of the learning programme ensures that students can continue to carry out other responsibilities. 

Amala was established in 2017 with the mission of using transformative education to create opportunities and inspire positive change in the lives of refugees and their communities. Amala’s programmes enable refugee youth who are out of school to return to learning and complete their secondary education.

This project serves as the first ever international high school diploma programme for young refugees in order to close the gap in secondary education access by allowing them to study towards a high quality secondary education diploma. The curriculum has been designed to be run and localised virtually anywhere, and we work with partners around the world to implement it. The 15-month programme comprises 1000 hours of taught learning, comparable to equivalent programmes such as the International Baccalaureate and A-levels. It comprises 10 modules, a guidance counselling programme and an extended, independent engagement project.

We have offered 25 places for the first cohort of the diploma programme, starting in June 2020 in Amman, Jordan, and we will expand to Kakuma Camp in Kenya later this year.

Our project serves displaced and conflict-affected youth aged 16-25. Due to conflict, war and subsequent migration, these young people miss out on the opportunity to finish their high school education. Barriers such as age, lack of identity documents or transcripts, as well as the need to work or care for family members keep young people out of school.

While our ambition is to reach refugees and displaced populations globally, our initial target population is refugees living in Jordan and Kenya, who come from countries like Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Somalia and DRC. 

In designing and developing our programme, we have consulted extensively with local stakeholders, current students and beneficiaries. At the start, we surveyed 350 young refugees, and found that they want a high school education that enables them to develop competences for life, that is flexible enough to accommodate their needs and will help them to access further opportunities.

Refugee learners are also active in our curriculum design process as advisors and participants. We conduct extensive feedback surveys and interviews with learners on our programmes. We have also conducted extensive research with our local delivery teams, discovering the importance of empowering the local community to run programmes.

Refugees are disproportionately left behind when it comes to education. While 85% of non-refugees worldwide access secondary education, only 9% in low-income countries have this opportunity. With Amala’s unique and innovative high school diploma programme we elevate opportunities for young people who are refugees - who have little or no opportunity to otherwise access secondary education - to complete their education, develop key 21st century skills, access further opportunities and eventually be the ones to make positive change in their own communities.  

This idea emerged through discussions between myself and co-founder Polly Akhurst in 2016, while working on a scholarship programme for refugees to complete their upper secondary education in schools globally. We found that the limited scholarship positions available turned away hundreds of promising applicants. Further research on educational programmes for refugees revealed only a small number of existing opportunities for refugees aged 16 and above, with the vast majority unable to access any learning opportunities. We believe that all young people should have access to high quality learning, which should not be halted because of conflict or migration. The idea for the Amala High School Diploma was born to find ways to provide high quality secondary education at scale to refugees around the world. 

To assist with curriculum development, we brought on board Stuart MacAlpine, Director of Teaching and Learning at UWC South East Asia, one of the world’s largest international schools. Through his involvement and a resultant whole-school commitment to use their curriculum articulation expertise to support Amala, a successful pilot course was conducted in 2017. Further courses were rolled out subsequently in 2018, leading up to the development of a full curriculum for the diploma programme in 2020.

Through attending international educational programmes on scholarships, and being the first to pursue higher education in our families, both my co-founder and I have experienced first hand the power of education to make a difference for an individual, who can in turn go on to become changemakers in their community. 

However, such an education is a privilege, and only available to the few. When the daughter or son of the global elite move to yet another country, educational institutions are wide open - offering a wealth of high quality programmes. When someone else moves country because of conflict, war or poverty and becomes a refugee, the doors of those same institutions are often closed. Inspired by my own personal experiences, and my passion for progressive education, I want to address the issue of educational inequality, and am motivated to be a part of a solution that can help close the educational gap for refugees.

Along with my co-founder, I built Amala up from scratch, with nothing but a large ambition to get to where we are today; the launch of  our pilot diploma programme. Our background as project leaders within international education at UWC (United World Colleges) made us well-positioned for the project. Within the organisation, we set up refugee scholarship programmes, from which stemmed the idea of Amala. Both of us are experienced social entrepreneurs; I started Danish Students Abroad, an advocacy and advisory organisation for young Danes studying abroad. My engagement with refugee communities while living and working in Syria also aid in my ability to deliver this project. My experience working with refugee communities for the past ten years has made me aware of the various issues at stake that I am now attempting to address through Amala. 

In my journey with Amala, I have led a team of 150 educators and refugee learners in the initial phases. These continuous experiences and engagements with people using the skills I have acquired over the years is what I believe puts me in a unique position to lead this project. 

Developing the first high school diploma programme for refugees was in itself a formidable ambition ridden with numerous challenges. We began with a small team of two co-founders and no funds. To overcome this, we utilised the resources that we had within our extensive network in development, education and charity work to conduct initial research. To combat the  issue of a lack of funds, we reached out to a large body of volunteers and experts in the field to get started. After six months, we received a small grant that was a significant stepping stone to where we are now. 

We are a resilient team at Amala, relying often on creative solutions in the face of few resources. For instance, our model utilises curriculum development events called ‘hackathons’ and volunteer expertise. A positive - but perhaps unintended consequence of this - has been that we have developed a ‘nimble’ organisation that is highly adaptive and which can respond quickly to new situations, even as large as the Covid-19 pandemic. 

While still at university, I led a student organisation called SOAS Detainee Support (SDS). Our aim was to support asylum seekers in detention centres in the UK to navigate the asylum system and provide human support while going through an incredibly challenging time. My responsibilities were emotionally challenging as they involved reckoning with so many instances of mistreatment of vulnerable people by the asylum system. Additionally, we were volunteers and students attempting to navigate the intricacies of the legal system.  

In the face of these challenges, I demonstrated my leadership abilities by leading groups of students in various projects, including visits to asylum seekers at detention centres. Acknowledging the constant emotional challenges of the tasks, I provided support to the volunteers campaigning with me.

What makes our work unique is that our high school diploma programme is the first of its kind, tailored specifically to the needs of young refugees across the world. While there are an increasing number of organisations that offer higher education programmes to refugees at scale through online or blended learning models, there are no such programmes at upper secondary level, i.e., junior and senior years of high school.

This problem presents a huge gap in education provision, which allows for marginalised and vulnerable people to never complete their basic education. Our context inclusive curriculum is innovative because it can be scaled globally, while being inclusive locally. The innovative nature of our project is also reflected in how we got here; curriculum hackathons using our vast network of students and educators have allowed for a diversity of perspectives, ensuring that we remain inclusive. It has also allowed us to develop a grand idea at low cost in the initial phases, through volunteer experience and expert knowledge. 

Our project is ultimately innovative because it solves a problem by giving refugee students an opportunity to complete their secondary education, thereby giving them the tools to make greater change in their communities. This eventually allows refugee communities to become self-sustaining and less dependent on outside aid. This is why our innovative model heavily focuses on ground-level partnerships to run our programmes. 

In our theory of change, our long-term impact is that through receiving access to high quality learning programmes, refugees are able to build a future for themselves that they value, and make positive change in their communities. 

To achieve this impact, Amala develops and delivers high quality curricula, including a transformational high school diploma programme where refugees develop agency, create value, take more responsibility and manage complexity. Refugees also develop their own projects and businesses with these tools.

We also work towards building capacity for delivery of our programmes worldwide and advocate for wider recognition of Amala education. This leads to more refugees accessing tertiary education and employment pathways beyond our programmes. Amala’s education will therefore become a recognised model for others to emulate. The long-term impact of this is that our educational model could inspire mainstream discourse and policy - ultimately increasing the number of young people around the world who have access to high quality secondary education.. 

Our outcomes and resultant long-term impact is backed by instances wherein alumni of our courses have created social impact in their communities. We also evidence alumni taking up further education and employment opportunities with the skills and knowledge they have gained. The Amala model has also been positively mentioned in media and public fora, exemplifying our impact. Further, we have widened our reach in terms of locations due to successful implementation of pilot courses. 

We at Amala acknowledge the importance of starting small in order to establish a proof of concept in the beginning. However, we wish to subsequently scale our model to a variety of locations reaching young refugees globally and in large numbers. The initial pilot cohort that started in June 2020 has 25 students enrolled in Amman, Jordan. Another 25 students will be enrolled at the same location in Fall 2020. In addition, 50 students will be enrolled onto a pilot programme in Kakuma Camp, Kenya in Fall 2020. In five years, the Amala Diploma Programme will reach at least 5000 learners annually. 

Our impact goals include refugees making positive change and enhancing their communities, and we have designed and developed a curriculum tailored to the needs of refugee youth to enable them to do so. Through this, our goal is for them to build a future for themselves and their communities that they value. Our goal is also that at least 80% of our learners gain access to further education (universities or vocational training institutes), enabling them to create a sustainable livelihood in the future. 

Our goal is to make the Amala educational model an inspiration for mainstream discourse and policy. Through the Amala High School Diploma pilot programme that has started in Amman, Jordan in June 2020, we plan to obtain a proof of concept by 2021, to go ahead and expand our reach to other countries. We aim to scale the programme to the countries mentioned above within the next five years. Simultaneously, we advocate for recognition of our education worldwide, to be able to establish ourselves as a model for others.  

A major market barrier for Amala is linked to the challenge of accreditation. There is a risk that as Amala works towards obtaining recognition, our application is rejected, or cannot be approved in the timeline listed. Although closely connected, accreditation and recognition are not the same, and recognition does not automatically follow accreditation. There is therefore a risk that - even if Amala obtains formal recognition from the accreditation agency NEASC (New England Association for Schools and Colleges)- students will not be able to access progression pathways at the scale that we are aiming for.

Amala has mitigated the risk of accreditation by selecting NEASC as our accrediting partner because their accreditation framework is highly aligned to our learning model, as well as our teaching and learning practices. We have studied NEASC’s accreditation process in detail and have had several conversations with Jeff Bradley, NEASC’s Director, Commission on International Education, to informally confirm that Amala is both eligible and able to obtain accreditation. Amala is also informed by NEASC’s accreditation process as we develop our programmes and practices. As an example, two members of the NEASC team are supporting the development of Amala’s facilitator training programme to ensure that it is aligned to NEASC’s high standards from the outset. Finally, Amala is also currently serving on NEASC’s working group that aims to alter their accreditation process to better suit programmes such as Amala’s.

We have also mitigated the risks linked to recognition by choosing NEASC as our accreditation partner because they are one of the highest regarded accreditation agencies in the world. Not only does NEASC already have a high degree of influence in Jordan, they also accredit several schools in Amman so they are well known amongst further education institutions. Finally, Amala further mitigates this risk by simultaneously developing recognition agreements with a wide range of further education institutions, and continues to advocate at all levels for the High School Diploma, so that we do not rely solely on accreditation to ensure that students can access progression pathways.

• One of our partner organisations is URISE Initiative for Africa, a refugee run community based organisation that guides young refugees to find meaning through life skills, social and economic empowerment. Amala and URISE have partnered since 2017, and have collaboratively run courses for 48 young refugees in Kakuma camp, Kenya since then. URISE is supported by UNHCR in the camp, and is one of the largest and most renowned youth organisations in Kakuma. They have built their own learning centre with support from diaspora, and have recently doubled their capacity by adding another classroom to the building. URISE will be responsible for all local implementation in Kakuma camp, including recruitment of the facilitator team, promoting the opportunity to young people in the camp, coordinating with UNHCR and other local partners as well as the day-to-day running of the programme. Their team will facilitate weekly classes for students and support their learning throughout the fifteen month programme, which will be piloted in Fall, 2020.

• We partner with Jangala, a UK-based charity that provides internet access to people in need of urgent or long-term humanitarian aid. They help us with Wi-Fi provision in Kakuma Camp, Kenya. 

• United World College of Southeast Asia, Singapore, a top international school is our partner in curriculum development and additional support.

The key beneficiaries of Amala are refugee communities globally. The Diploma Programme’s beneficiaries will be young refugees aged 16-25 who are not enrolled in the national education system and who have very few educational opportunities available to them. We provide this programme by working directly with communities, through trained facilitators running the programmes on the ground [sometimes thorough partner organisations]. These facilitators and partners are key to local coordination including student recruitment. 

Our blended learning model targets a gap in the secondary education system for young refugees. Only 9% of young people in low income countries have access to secondary education. Secondary education is key to being able to make choices such as finding jobs, pursuing higher education and creating a sustainable livelihood. The key beneficiaries of our programme are often unable to access secondary education because of work commitments, because they are not allowed to, are missing key documents or do not meet age requirements. Amala offers a more flexible solution to these challenges. 

Our path to financial sustainability involves developing diversified income streams; grants from foundations, individuals and companies, eventually government aid programmes such as DFID or USAID. In the long term we also wish to work with larger partners to deliver our programmes. These partners will pay a fee to lease our curriculum or pay for Amala to run the programmes for them.

• Grant from the Catalyst Foundation for Universal Education: May 2018 and December 2019. Grant from the Kahane Foundation: June 2018 and June 2019. 
• Grant from Emergence Foundation: August 2020
• Grant from The British and Foreign School Society: March 2020
• Grant from the Horizon Foundation: June 2020

Due to stipulations by our funders, we are not able to share the funding amounts publicly, however, our total income for the financial year 2018/2019 was approximately US$159,000.

We are currently seeking to raise $700,000 in grant funding to help us build further capacity to run and expand our programmes over the next three years, reaching at least 3000 learners a year by this time. 

Our estimated expense for 2020 is $200,000.

We are applying for the Elevate Prize to create an opportunity to increase our impact by scaling our programmes and reaching more refugee learners with high quality education. This ties in with previously mentioned potential challenges of recognition that may not be alleviated by accreditation. To this end, we need help to amplify our mission and create a global brand for high quality education. We hope that through the Elevate Prize we can create new partnerships in addition to the essential funding to meet these goals. We believe that we can leverage the opportunities awarded by the Prize, since we have extensive experience in working with a range of expert stakeholders, volunteers, refugee communities, and partner organisations to meet our goals.

We require assistance and partnerships to create our funding and revenue model. We need help with visualising the scaling of Amala. We would also be interested in mentorship or coaching in areas such as leadership and financial modeling. Marketing media and exposure partnerships would be of great assistance in order to amplify the impact of our project. We are looking to reach a new audience and create partnerships to tell the Amala story. 

We look forward to partnering with organisations that work with refugees, and also those that provide education and wish to expand their offering at secondary education level. We are expecting to grow globally in countries and regions with large refugee populations.

We envision funding partners who believe that all refugees should have access to high quality learning. Our partners will be those who want to help us bring Amala learning to new locations and to a wider body of learners.