When Myanmar refugee Trey and his wife Kimi moved into the Danau Kota flats of Setapak, they immediately saw a pressing need for a community school. At the time, many ethnic Myanmar Chin refugees had joined the congregation at Hope Evangelical Free Church (Hope EFC). This relationship led to the church becoming CTC’s local sponsors.
CTC also sought endorsement from UNHCR and eventually received a one-time grant of RM12,000 to offset operating expenses. When the learning centre opened its doors in 2008, it had an intake of some 20 Myanmar students. CTC was initially wholly staffed by Myanmar’s assisted by a few volunteers. In time as enrolment grew too big for the flats, CTC relocated to a shop-office lot in the vicinity. Founders Trey and Kimi were also relocated to the US not long after the school started.
The administration of CTC was then undertaken by Hope EFC. An NGO Communitas Wangsa Maju Berhad was incorporated to ensure accountability and transparency of the community service. 14 years later, CTC operates classes for students aged between 5 to 18 years. Today, we have an enrolment of 217 students of diverse ethnicity, faith community, and nationality, including 8 full-time teachers, of whom 7 are refugees themselves. We thank God who has enabled us to continue all these years through the generous donations and support of businesses, individuals, and corporations. It is our commitment and prayer that in the coming days, CTC will become better equipped to serve our refugee students as well as their families.