Social Justice Storytelling - Rohingya Refugee Humanitarian Crisis

Our bilingual publishing company was hired by aid organization Save the Children to create an illustrated story about displaced Rohingya children. The Rohingya are a Muslim minority of 1.3 million, formerly living in the Rakhine State within Myanmar. Two years ago, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people fled violence and horrific abuses in their home and sought safety in neighboring Bangladesh. More than half of those fleeing were children.

Thoughtfully illustrated with detailed imagery, The Unexpected Friend is a fictional story based on the real lives of those children currently living in the refugee camps of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Their individual stories were compiled through the dedicated work of aid agencies Save the Children, Plan International and World Vision and transformed into a storybook in partnership with Guba Publishing, for the purpose of gifting it to the children in the camps.

 A new friend! 

Children playing at the camp learning centre. 

A view of Kutupalong Refugee Camp 

The Unexpected Friend: A Rohingya Children’s Story is available for purchase on the Guba Publishing website. All profits from book sales to be donated directly to Save the Children’s Rohingya relief fund in Bangladesh. Order the book here.

Social justice is not an easy topic to discuss with children, but a good picture book certainly makes it easier.