Just one year after winning the Nobel Peace Prize for her activist work in gender equality in education, young Pakistani woman Malala Yousafzai celebrated her 18th birthday by opening a school for Syrian refugee girls in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, located near the Syrian border.
Malala is perhaps best known for having survived being shot in the head by Taliban gunmen in 2012. Since then, she has been a symbol of empowerment and resilience, not allowing the trauma to overcome her but instead to turn it into an opportunity to serve others.
The school will serve 200 Syrian girls between the ages of 14 and 18 and will enable students to receive their degrees through the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education. This school is just part of Malala’s commitment to speaking on the rights of children. She said in a speech:
” I think there’s no limit of age … to speak of children’s rights. My father has been doing it as a teacher and I will continue to do it as a woman. As an adult, you can be the voice of children.”
What an incredible woman! Click here to read more on this inspiring story. Congratulations to Malala on her determination. Let it serve as an inspiration on how possible it is to turn a bad situation into a legacy.
