A Hazara former refugee has embarked on an extraordinary 4000-kilometre cycling journey to raise educational funds for refugees and Afghan women.
Muzafar Ali has begun pedalling from Maleny, Queensland to Adelaide, South Australia, stopping on the way in Dandenong on World Refugee Day on Friday 20 June for a morning tea hosted by Greater Dandenong mayor Jim Memeti.
It is one of a series of brief stops for Muzafar’s team on their Ride for Education, including in several rural communities.
“The cycle has a special place from my childhood when my father used to take me to school an hour away for eight years of my life.
“This cycle is very symbolic to me and helped me continue my education.
“This time I want to use it to raise awareness and raise funds for refugees stuck in Indonesia and women in Afghanistan.”
The ride, which coincides with Refugee Week 2025, is part of a campaign to raise $250,000 to support eight schools, 130 teachers, and more than 2000 students across seven countries through Cisarua Learning, a refugee-led organisation co-founded by Muzafar in Indonesia in 2014.
It is named after the Indonesian town Cisarua, which is also the staging post for asylum-seeker boats headed for Christmas Island.
Muzafar worked as a as a UN political analyst in Afghanistan actively engaged in promotion of human rights among other critical works before fleeing threats from the Taliban in 2012.
As a refugee in Indonesia for two years with no rights to work or education, he co-founded the first refugee-led school in West Java.
He, his wife, sister and sister-in-law became the first teacher volunteers.
“When we started our first refugee school in Indonesia with just $200, we never imagined it would grow into what it is today.
“This ride is about connecting with the communities who have supported us along the way and raising awareness about the critical situation facing women’s education in Afghanistan.”
What started as a school has grown into a holistic refugee pre-resettlement support organisation that provides education to refugees from many war-torn countries, all based in Indonesia.
The school is running strong with nine schools in Indonesia, six of them supported through Cisarua Learning by not only providing English classes but also psycho-social activities such as sports, to minimise the mental health issues, sense of purpose and belonging.
According to Muzafar, the school consists of students aged four to 68 years, including women who have not previously attended school and having a go at learning English.
“When they attend school a lot of them don’t know English and we use English as a common language to learn and use the Australian curriculum.
“When resettled they go to their age-appropriate classes straightaway, they don’t need to attend to EAL.”
Capable students become teachers after Year 9 or above and teachers can move up to become managers, providing a career pathway.
The school may be the only normal aspect of their lives as they wait in limbo.
During Musafar’s ride, the film ‘The Staging Post directed by director and Cisarua Learning co-founder Jolyon Hoff is being screened in several stop-off points.
The film follows Muzafar’s life in Indonesia, the community and school.
This is one of a series of three films following Watandar, My Countryman with an upcoming release in October, We are not Powerless.
