Our Story

Learn2Earn was founded by Zhian Eli, who knows first-hand how disempowering life can be as a refugee. Zhian spent her teenage years in a refugee camp in Syria without access to education, and when she came to New Zealand in 1997 was unable to study as she was a full-time carer to her elderly parents. Zhian is heavily involved in her local community; hosting art classes, community dinners, informative school visits, and a local radio show. She founded the International Student Rescue Mission (MRSI) with the goal of helping newly-placed refugees to settle into their new communities, and developed the concept of Learn2Earn to provide accessible education to refugees across the world.

Access to education would have made a significant impact on Zhian's life, and so she has created Learn2Earn as a way to give hope and connection to refugees and to prepare them for their futures through accessible, personalised, and flexible education.