Inspired by Malala and Greta Thunberg, Abdullah Najjar, 13, a secondary school boy from a Syrian Refugee Family will campaign in front of the House of Parliament every day during the whole month of Ramadan straight after the school while fasting. He wants to raise funds for refugee children and inspire ‘big people’ in the Houses of Parliament to act end the refugee crisis.

Born in London, Abdullah lived in Syria for three years until the conflict started. He still remembers the chaos and desperation of the moment when his family were searching for safe routes to return to London. But the majority of his family members couldn’t leave which left them displaced and vulnerable, they are still in dangerous circumstances and in fear of their safety and lives.

He said ‘I am only a schoolboy. I can’t change everything as I have no power to do so. The big people who sit in this parliament can change things for the better for the refugee children who are hungry in Syria, Yemen and Burma.The Covid-19 pandemic is also a nightmare and I feel so sad to imagine what they are going through‘

Malala and Greta are my inspiration. They were my age or younger when they started to campaign for the better. If they can speak up and speak out and make people more aware and make change happen. I should try too’. Abdullah says.

He and his cousins who are also from refugee families will wear school uniforms. Explaining  the reason for choosing  the Houses of Parliament during the month of Ramadan, Abdullah said ‘I am fasting every day during the month of Ramadan but I know that food is waiting when I break the fast. People in the crisis area don’t have that certainty, they don’t have food, they are starving every day and many of them are dying in the war or in the sea or we don’t even know where (they are dying)’.

In 2018, then aged 10, Abdullah attended a fundraiser event in East London and raised his hands to donate £10,000 for humanitarian causes. The whole house was amused to see a response from a young boy, but little did they know that the young boy would go on and help raise more than £120,000!

Reflecting on that event Abdullah’s father, an NHS doctor Mohamed Najjar said ‘we are supportive to Abdullah’s wishes to help others. Since that event Abdullah would save as much as possible, and every year he would donate his full savings of few hundred pounds’.

‘But seeing that his few hundred pounds were actually not enough to help end the crisis, Abdullah wanted the Prime Minister, the MPs the whole House of Commons to come forward and take steps to end the crisis.’ Mohamed continues.