It was at night when Zeinab (10) alongside her mother, father and four brothers left their home in Syria.

Heavy shelling in the area brought the family to their final decision. Earlier, ten of their relatives had been killed in just one day. The children were terrified and couldn’t sleep properly.
Wearing just their night clothes, Zeinab and her family walked and ran from everything they held dear. After about three days, being helped along the way by friends, they made it to the Lebanese border.
Now the family are sheltering at a school in eastern Lebanon, which has opened up its doors to 25 Syrian refugee families during the school vacation.
Zeinab’s family are sharing a small space in the school foyer with only tarpaulins for walls, but she is remarkably upbeat: “I like it here as I get to play with the other children.”
Zeinab says she misses her home a lot: “The first thing I would do if we went back is to arrange the house. Then, second, I would go see my family and friends.”
The conflict in Syria has meant that Zeinab has missed out on school this year. Although she is attending a summer camp, her dream is to be able to go back to school.
“I love to study – my favourite subject is Arabic. I miss my friends from school. I don’t know where they are.”
With all the chaos and conflict she has witnessed in Syria, Zeinab would like to do something positive: “I want to be a children’s doctor. There are a lot of children currently sick and suffering and I want to help.”
Zeinab is just one of the over one million children who need UNICEF’s help right now during the ongoing conflict. Thanks to your generosity, we can continue to help children like Zeinab. Thank you for sharing what you can with the children of Syria.