Abu Dhabi: A group of young students from New York University Abu Dhabi have launched an awareness drive to help raise donations for thousands of Syrian refugee families living in Jordan.

Aimed at supporting the United Nations Refugee Agency’s [UNCR] Lifeline Appeal, the students are hoping to make a positive impact on the campaign which ends this month, with more than half of the UN’s target reached so far.

“What made me decide to get involved in this project was the fact that I could personally empathise with the idea of losing my home, and this moved me to try and do something,” said Abhimanyu Vasishth, 19, one of the students involved in creating the social media campaign.

“Anything we can positively do to help the Syrian refugees makes a difference and can go a long way in helping these families get settled with the basic necessities they need,” he added.

Vasishth remarked that their Facebook page was opened only last month, but has since received over 4,500 likes in that short period of time.

“We have audiences from a wide range of areas including the Middle East, Europe, North America, and India,” he said.

“Since we’ve joined the campaign the number of families that have been removed from requiring cash assistance has gone down in the hundreds, and we believe this is a combination of the UNCR’s work and our contribution,” he added.

Another participating student, Dominque Lear, 21, told Gulf News that roughly all donations go straight to the refugees.

“The delivery methods make use of iris-scan technology available in Jordan, so the money goes directly to whom it was intended,” she said.

“The families are provided with hard cash so that they have the flexibility to use the money on what they most need,” she added.

Lear also spoke positively on the impact of using social media, and how it was allowing young people to get involved in international humanitarian issues.

“We have had overwhelming support on social media, and people have been really keen on getting involved and learning more about the campaign,” she said. “Most of our audience consists of 18-25 year olds, so it’s wonderful to get a view on how quickly things can grow through social media, and how we are able to spread the message around the world,” she added.

The young student acknowledged that much work remains to be done for the future, but that she and many others were ready to do their part.

“There are hundreds of thousands of other Syrian refugees in Jordan who need help, as well as many other families across the world from different backgrounds that need help,” she said.

“Our team has been trying to give our two cents to a major crisis, and we are very thankful for the opportunity.”

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People who wish to donate to the UN’s Lifeline Appeal:

http://donate.unhcr.org/ar/lifeline-en/

Social media page:

https://www.facebook.com/LifelineAppealJordan/?fref=ts