I initially got the idea to do this Skydive from my brother, and quickly realised it would be an ideal opportunity to raise money for a crisis that has been weighing on my mind for a long time. There is so much tragedy happening around the world, especially in war zones; I want to do this in order to give back to a country whose people are in a desperate situation, and have been for many years now.

As a consequence of the civil war in Syria there has now been, to this date, 3,205,004 refugees. Each one of these people is now subject to a life living in a tent, if they are lucky enough to have found their way into an official refugee camp. They may not even have a tent. They may not have even made it out of their town, and may not have any access to food, water, or education. This means that there will be a whole lost generation of people - namely children. A whole generation of children whose childhood will be wiped out.  

My experiences as a assistant psychologist have opened my eyes to the impact that trauma can have on an individual's mental and physical health. The well being of the displaced Syrians, children and their families, will have without doubt been affected by the trauma they have witnessed at home, and experienced by migrating miles to refugee camps from Jordan to Turkey, and across Europe.

The charity I have chosen is Human Care Syria - they help combat the impact of this trauma. Some of their major work involves working within the country providing food and everyday necessities, education within the camps, and, more recently, the winter appeal. The winter appeal is a specific appeal to help prepare those living in thin tents, without the aid of personal possessions, for the freezing temperatures that will come this winter. This is important at the minute because of the time of year, but the ongoing work they do with education will be long lasting, and have a long term impact. The schools built are underground so will not be effected by bombs, and can provide education for the duration of the war; giving many children a way out, and an escape from everyday life within a refugee camp.

Only £10 can provide a child's education for one month, or buy their entire school uniform and books. £20 can provide a casualty's psychotherapy and physiotherapy treatment. £45 can feed a family of 5, for 30 days - that is only £1.50 a day for 30 days. That could make a huge difference to a family's life.

This is where my birthday comes in - I would love all my family and friends to take this chance to donate money to this cause rather than buy me a present, or give me money. I would also like to invite those who have happened to come across my page, and would like to donate to a worthy cause, to join in and give what they can. I have personally already paid for the skydive so all proceeds will now go directly to the charity (I have given a link to them below for more info.)

http://www.humancaresyria.org/

I have provided a link below to a TED talk on the importance of education on children living in refugee camps, they probably explain the importance of the matter better than I can! 

http://www.ted.com/talks/melissa_fleming_let_s_help_refugees_thrive_not_just_survive?language=en

Thank you very much for reading this!!

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