With millions of Syrian refugee children missing out on their basic right to an education because of the ongoing war, Amal and George Clooney are looking to do something about it.
The Clooney Foundation for Justice is set to launch a fund – in conjunction with 50 other philanthropic efforts from companies around the world – that will give Syrian refugee children a chance to enroll in an educational program in Lebanon.
"We want to get every single out-of-school child in Lebanon an education," Amal Clooney told USA TODAY .
"My own family left Lebanon when there was a war there, and I couldn't have done any of the work I have done without having been able to have an education."
The Clooneys plan to enroll 10,000 Syrian refugees in pop-up schools by 2017, and another 50,000 children by 2018.
The foundation is working with SABIS, a global education provider that has already had success in teaching refugee children in the country.
Google has announced a $1 million donation to kick start the initiative.
Since the start of the Syrian war, more than 1.5 million Syrians have fled to neighboring Lebanon. The Clooneys' plan is to launch up to 10 schools by September 2017 in the communities where refugee children are residing.
"Let's not lose an entire generation of people because they happened to be born in the wrong place at the wrong time," George Clooney told USA Today.
Last week, Amal Clooney criticized the United Nations for its failure to tackle ISIS crimes against the Yazidi community. She is currently the representative of Iraqi Nadia Murad Basee Taha, a former ISIS sex slave.
“I am ashamed as a supporter of the United Nations that states are failing to prevent or even punish genocide because they find that their own interests get in the way,” Amal Clooney said, according to The Independent .