Lebanese American Zack Bazzi, a documentary filmmaker and Iraq War veteran, is on a mission to improve educational opportunities for Syrian children in refugee camps. While working as a consultant in Kurdistan, Iraq earlier this year, Bazzi decided to volunteer his time in the eight camps that house more than 240,000 Syrian refugees.
He realized that some children went to school without supplies, and decided to do something about it. By founding TentEd, along with fellow veterans Scott Quilty and Patrick Hu, he was able to leverage his networks and raise thousands of dollars for this “rapid impact” project, which directly provides school supplies, books, and teaching aids to students in refugee camps.
In addition, Bazzi was able to utilize remaining TentEd funds to further assist the displaced children, ensuring that 200 children from low-income households in Ebil are guaranteed bus rides to and from Garanawa Elementary School through September. By relying on local volunteers and supporters, the remainder of the funds were invested where help was needed most, allowing Bazzi to “get more bang for the buck.”
Rabia, a single Syrian mother of five, provides evidence of the impact of Bazzi’s work. Prior to TentEd’s help in the region, Rabia struggled to sign her children up for school. “I could not afford it,” she said. But now, with the help of Bazzi and the Center for Arab American Philanthropy’s (CAAP) support, she has newfound hope, and her children are “making progress in life.”
Rabia and her family
Bazzi recognizes the difficulty in getting aid to areas of conflict, but he says, “there’s always a reason for you not to do something, but if you have a vision, there’s always a way.”
Zack will begin his master’s degree in Disaster Response Management at Georgetown University in the fall. We look forward to hearing more from this trailblazer, for whom “giving back is common sense.”
Related articles
- Syrian refugee education: A conversation with Zack Bazzi (Huffington Post)