Daniel Nasr, a Lebanese student currently undertaking London’s Goldsmiths University’s Design program is developing a sustainable method to provide accessible education to both children and young adults in refugee communities who do not have access to traditional education.
Syrian refugees -estimated at 1.2 million according to the UN- who have sought refuge in Lebanon because of fighting in their country, have settled in all parts of Lebanon, putting a huge strain on already-stretched services and infrastructure. Almost a fifth of Syrian refugees in Lebanon live in informal settlements.
Of the 400,000 school-age Syrian children in Lebanon, UNHCR and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are only able to provide funding for 106,000 places in the country’s State schools with the remaining three quarters receiving no formal education.
After months of researching and continuing his thesis, which developed into a photographic investigation into refugee culture inside Lebanon, Nasr began designing frameworks to allow refugees to develop their own educational practices, in other words develop sustainability.
He has so far secured the cooperation of a settlement in Northern Lebanon, in a beach resort turned refugee hub; and in it, 109 children and five teachers covering subjects like Arabic, sculpture, and gold leafing.
“After visiting some of the settlements in 2014, I began thinking of a design rooted response that would provide aid, but in a way that allows migrants to thrive and self-sustain, not rely on one off donations.”
On top of providing an open source design for the migrants, Nasr plans to jumpstart a micro economy in the settlement, pushing its self-sustainability to the limits. He suggests every settlement needs a certain amount of money to jumpstart its system, and through public workshops and events, slowly begin to gain income and the system will grow and sustain on its own.
But Daniel needs your help.
“As a student, it’s difficult to be able to afford the system jumpstart on my own, and so it’s necessary that what began as a community based project becomes an international community based project, with Kickstarter.com as the platform to do so,” Nasr concludes. He plans to raise £1,300 by May 30, 2015 and will begin classes as soon as funding is reached.
So click on this link and help Daniel’s project titled “Migrants of Circumstance”. The campaign aims to secure the amount by next month so please do your part in helping a man who only wishes to help others.
Migrants of Circumstance
Kickstarter campaigns operate under an “all-or-nothing” funding model so if the Migrants of Circumstance project doesn’t reach its goal at the end of May, then it might be another few months of delay until the system goes into effect. Every day, Syrians lose an opportunity to learn, an opportunity to grow; funding this project will, at least, change that reality for the lives of a small group of them in Lebanon.
To follow this project, be sure to find it on Twitter (@mocproject) and spread the word to your social media networks.
Consider donating as little as £5 or 10,000 L.L to help the project come to life.