George and Amal Clooney will fund the opening of schools for thousands of refugee and Lebanese students, Education Minister Elias Bou Saab announced earlier Tuesday. In a post on his Facebook page, Bou Saab said he met with the Clooneys to discuss the initiative during his visit to New York for the U.N. General Assembly.
“Bou Saab accepted the invitation of Amal and George Clooney, who have launched a project to teach children in Lebanon through private schools that they will build in cooperation with SABIS – a global network of schools – and Lebanon’s Education Ministry,” the post read.
The A-listers told Bou Saab that the first of the several schools will open its doors next year. “The project aims at providing education for 15, 000 Lebanese and refugee children,” continued the minister’s Facebook post.
The Syrian conflict and resulting massive influx of refugees has put pressure on Lebanon’s school system and interrupted many refugee children’s education.
Roughly 250,000 Syrian children in Lebanon are out of school according to research from Human Rights Watch. Local and international organizations have implemented various initiatives aimed at getting more children into school.
Lebanon-born and London-raised Amal Clooney is a human rights lawyer and had previously launched a scholarship for young Lebanese women to pursue their studies at the United World College Dilijan in Armenia.[Albawaba]
