What’s happening now with a huge $300 million partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and the UN Refugee Agency?

BY KHADIJA KARIM

Close your eyes for a second. Picture this: your school is gone, your home is no longer safe, and the only thing you can do is run. Not because you want to, no– but because you have to. You don’t know where you’re going. You just know you can’t stay.

That’s what it’s like to be a refugee, and right now, over 45 million people across Africa are living this way. Here’s what most people forget: refugees are not weak. They are not just victims. They are strong. They are determined, and when they’re given a real chance — not just help, but opportunity —they don’t just survive. They grow.

“When we give refugees the chance to rebuild, they don’t just change their own lives — they change the world for all of us.”

That’s what’s happening now with a huge $300 million partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). It’s not just big — it’s huge. This partnership will help more than 500,000 displaced youth by 2030. It’s about returning the power that was stolen, giving young people the chance to learn, not just for school, but for survival. To gain skills that don’t just land jobs but rebuild shattered lives. It’s about turning broken paths into bridges, so they can stop running and start rising, not as victims, but as: builders, leaders, and healers of the very world that turned its back on them. This isn’t just support, it’s a real future for very real people.

More than half a million young people will be able to finish high school. 10,000 will go to college, or training programs. 200,000 will get to work or become business owners. That means they can earn money, take care of their families, and build something real.

This isn’t just about numbers. It’s about people, like Dr. Fatima. She was a doctor in Sudan. Then war forced her to flee with her four kids. She lost everything, but thanks to this partnership, she got re-certified and started working again in Chad. Now she’s doing what she loves, helping others. For her, working means more than a job. It’s getting her life, identity, and confidence back.

This is the kind of change that actually lasts. It’s not just about food or shelter. It’s about rebuilding lives, and it’s not just outsiders helping — the partnership also supports 100 local and refugee-led groups, so communities can help lead themselves.

Too often, we hear the word “refugee” and think only of sadness, or loss, but that’s not the whole story. This is about courage. About people who keep going, even when they’ve lost so much. It’s about young people who just need one chance — one door to open — to show the world what they’re capable of, and after all they’ve been through there’s not much they can’t do.

If we only view refugees as a problem, we overlook the amazing potential they hold. When we support them and believe in their abilities, they don’t just get back on their feet — they rebuild their lives and inspire those around them to do the same.

This isn’t just about them. It’s about all of us. When refugees learn, work, and lead, it doesn’t just make the whole world better, but it makes the world realize what the word strength means. Refugees will forever inspire, lead and start new paths we didn’t know we could take.