Syrian Refugee Fund-FAID School

        (Me with some of the  students at FAID School for the Deaf--Syrian and Lebanese)

Salam, my name is John Van Rooy. I am originally from Rochester, MN but am now living and working in Saudi Arabia as an ESL teacher. I have a passion for education and social justice, which has led me to start this campaign.

After a successful campaign to support 3 Syrian refugee families (see: Syrian Family Refugee Fund ), I am returning to Lebanon again to follow up with all the families and continue my support for The FAID School for the Deaf in Beirut.

I was put in contact with FAID school during my first visit to Lebanon one year ago. Since then, I have maintained contact through email and social media. I have also visited 3 times, conducted a movement/dance workshop, and discussed the needs of students with teachers and staff. This campaign was born out of our discussions.

This time I will be joined by my friend and fellow teacher, Sean Tribe. Over the next month we will be raising money to support the Syrian refugee students at FAID, which now number 16. 

                  
Our goal is to raise $8000 to support their tuition costs, room and board, and additional services—such as speech therapy, mental health, clothing, and transportation. The cost per child to cover all of these services is $700/month. All of the money raised will go directly to supporting the current Syrian students in the areas mentioned above.

This campaign does not expect to meet all of the current financial needs (although it would be amazing if it could!), but it will hopefully make a significant contribution to helping sustain the refugee student program.

I have witnessed first hand the transformative power of education in the lives of the refugee students at FAID school. The service that the teachers and staff are providing to all the children, Syrian and Lebanese, is one of not only a quality education, but most importantly, of hope and love. 


Unfortunately, FAID does not receive any government funds to support the financial costs of the Syrian students. As a result, they rely solely on private donations and special projects to raise the funds necessary to keep the school running.

Given the current number of refugee students, which is expected to grow by next school year, they are in urgent need of additional funding. While the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria often feels too distant and too overwhelming to take action, this is a direct and powerful way that you can make a contribution to helping the situation.

Please consider making a donation to support the important work of FAID School so they can continue to offer rays of hope to children who have experienced unspeakable tragedy.

With gratitude,
John & Sean

P.s. For transparency purposes, I want to state that all the money raised will be initially transferred into my personal account and then transferred directly to the FAID school account in Lebanon.

Note: John and Sean will be in Lebanon between
June 1-21.

Link to : FAID School for the Deaf
Link to: Quick Facts on Syrian Crisis