LUCY and Grace, both 15, are two refugees from Myanmar who teach at the Zomi Education Centre (ZEC) in Cheras.
Lucy hopes to become a dentist and dreams of going back to her country to practise
Both girls went to school in Myanmar before their families were forced to flee.
Lucy's father works in a factory. Her mother died in Myanmar.
Grace lost both her parents in Myanmar and her siblings are being cared for by her 20-year old sister.
Despite their meagre surroundings, Lucy and Grace were sent to this learning centre along with their siblings. When their teachers realised how bright they were, they recommended that the girls teach the younger children.
"We thought it would be good to help the children in our community and ease the burden of our teachers," said Grace.
It has been three months now since the girls started teaching in the mornings, and attend classes in the afternoons. They both teach English, Mathematics, Science and Zomi language to their class of 7-year-olds.
"It is easy teaching them. They listen and learn well," Lucy said.
"Sometimes, they want to just play and once in a while, we let them," quipped Grace.
They have also attended a computer course and have high ambitions, with Lucy hoping to become a doctor and Grace, a scientist.
"We also like teaching and will continue doing it," they said, adding that it was their hope that they would be able to go back to Myanmar to realise their dreams.
ZEC coordinator Khampi said Grace and Lucy were remarkable students as they only picked up English when they came to Malaysia.
The ZEC has five other learning centres and are part of the Zomi Association of Malaysia.
Khampi, who himself is a refugee, said the need to set up these education centres was overwhelming.
"No one knows how long we will be here or when we can go back to our country. The children must have basic education so that they don't get left out," he added.
The ZEC centre in Cheras, he said, was started in 2009 with about 40 students. Now the centre has about 100 students and a hostel to board some of them.
The learning centre, which cater to children from the ages of three to 16, collects RM30 for classes and RM100 for boarding from parents who can afford it.
Khampi said volunteer teachers, individuals and a few organisations had helped tremendously in running the centres.
"Our monthly rental is being paid by one of the teachers and before that, the Tzu Chi Foundation and the Czech Embassy had helped."
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