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Meet Carol Malouf: A Lebanese woman helping Syrian refugees

(Photo © Carol Malouf)

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Carol Malouf has many titles — journalist, political consultant, university lecturer, and media advisor. But in recent years, she’s added social activist to that list after launching a Lebanese NGO to help Syrian refugees.

“Lebanese for Refugees” was founded in December 2013 after Malouf was contacted by the municipality of Arsal to document the plight of over 400 Syrian refugee families, according to a report by Global Voices Online.

Malouf was inspired to raise money to provide blankets to Syrian refugees in Lebanon during cold winter months. But she realized it wasn’t enough.

The project quickly grew into large donation drives of clothes, shoes, toys, blankets, food and money, using more than two dozen trucks to distribute the aid to several refugee camps.

The NGO has raised more than $100,000 in just three months from December 2013 to March 2014, and $20,000 in January 2015 alone.

The donations come from independent donors and other NGOs and organizations, including the Islamic Relief Committee, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, the European Union, and Foodblessed.

Despite Malouf’s attention to refugees, she hasn’t lost her roots in journalism. She writes regularly for the Daily Telegraph, Al Jazeera English, and Al Joumhouria, among others. She is also a frequent commentator and analyst for ABC News Australia and other Lebanese TV stations.

Malouf was also the founding member and Senior Middle East Producer at Al Jazeera English, where she extensively covered regional and international news and political stories.

She holds a masters degree in politics from the University of Exeter and a bachelors degree in international relations. She is fluent in Arabic, English and French.

If you wish to donate to “Lebanese for Refugees”, visit their Indiegogo campaign at this link.

WATCH Malouf talk about the refugee crisis in Lebanon on France 24:

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