Malala Yousafzai Celebrates 18th Birthday With New All-Girls School In Lebanon
Girls’ rights activist Malala Yousafzai turned 18 this month and has commemorated the occasion by opening an all-girls school in Lebanon.
“Today on my first day as an adult, on behalf of the world’s children, I demand of leaders we must invest in books instead of bullets,” Yousafzai said during her birthday speech, quoted by Sasha Zients of Quartz. The young activist, known for taking a bullet for advocating the girls’ education rights, said world and Lebanese leaders have failed Syrian children.
Jace Harr of Education News reported that only 20 percent of Syrian refugee kids in Lebanon receive formal education.
Two weeks ago, Yousafzai opened the Malala Yousafzai All-Girls School in Bekaa Valley, near the Syrian border where more than a million Syrian refugees reside. Two hundred girls, ages 14 to 18, are set to attend, according to Education News.
A statement posted on the Malala Fund’s blog noted that the new curriculum will allow students to earn their vocational or bachelor’s degrees through the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education, or the Syrian equivalent. Those who cannot attend the four-year bachelor’s degree program will participate in skills courses that will help them find employment and earn their own money, the blog post stated.
The school’s opening is part of Lebanese NGO Kayani Foundation’s initiative, which supports displaced Syrian kids. The group, founded by Noura Jumblatt in 2013, offered food, sanitation, water, and other essentials to refugees living in Bekaa.
“I am honored to mark my 18th birthday with the brave and inspiring girls of Syria,” Yousafzai said in her speech. “I am here on behalf of the 28 million children who are kept from the classroom because of armed conflict.”
“Their courage and dedication to continue their schooling in difficult conditions inspires people around the world and it is our duty to stand by them,” she added.
Yousafzai has devoted most of her youth advocating education for girls. Her campaigns in Swat Valley in Pakistan, her hometown, led to a Taliban attack in 2012 where she took a bullet in her head. Yousafzai became the youngest Nobel Prize recipient in 2014, according to NPR News.
Yousafzai’s non-profit group, the Malala Fund, urged global leaders to ensure children 12 years of education, regardless of gender. She also asked them to invest $39 billion more in education. The group recently unveiled a $250,000 grant for the education of Syrian refugee girls in Azraq, Jordan.
Source: www.ischoolguide.com