How a Journalist Is Using Crowdfunding to Send a Syrian Refugee to College

The situation in Syria continues to look bleak, but this story shows that even among the chaos, people are working to help each other. Back in November, Swiss journalist Detlef Gürtler visited Jordan to report on the Zaatari refugee camp where 100,000 Syrians are now living after fleeing the violence in their country. While there, Gürtler met young Odday Alatiki. Before he was forced to leave Syria, Odday was a top student and planned on attending a college in Damascus. Gürtler was so moved by Odday’s situation that he set up an Indiegogo page in an effort to raise the funds necessary to help the young refugee study at a prestigious school in Germany. The duo has just surpassed their fundraising goal, and later this month, Odday will visit the German embassy in Beirut to receive his student visa. Gürtler told The Local, “If you watch the news or Youtube videos on Syria, you get a feeling of helplessness – your first reaction is to do something, but you realize you can’t … Giving one Syrian the chance to study in Germany means that you can do something” …