How Your Legacy Gift Changes Lives

A legacy donation, a donation made in your will, is one of the most precious gifts you can give. It’s a decision that’s not entered lightly and is one that requires contemplation and reflection. 

With this in mind, it’s important to know that your gift will make a real difference to the lives of children in need. 

Read on to discover how one UNICEF Supporter’s legacy brought hope and possibility into the lives of Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Our Donor’s Story

Start-Up Za’atari allows young Syrian refugees to resume their education and realise their potential with innovative workshops. Jordan | 2018 | Herwig

Joan’s* love and compassion for children was always evident throughout her life. While making her final will, she wanted to remember the charities and causes she’d supported throughout her life. 

By leaving a legacy donation to UNICEF, she was able to continue to support children in need, a cause she cared deeply about. Joan’s wish was that her donation would be used to educate Syrian refugee children. And it was. 

Start-Up Za’atari

Children’s education and development can take many forms. From learning your A,B,Cs to discovering a passion for business and entrepreneurship, education is the key to any child’s future. 

Located in Jordan, Za’atari refugee camp is the largest Syrian refugee camp. Now a permanent settlement, the camp opened in 2012 and is home to nearly 80,000 refugees, with 20% being aged under-five. 

For children and young people living in refugee camps across the Middle-East, third-level education and long-term employment is a dream which may never become a reality. 

Joan’s legacy gift was used to fulfil her final wish of bringing education and the promise of a happy, fulfilled future to Syrian refugee children. 

Start-Up Za’atari, the program her donation funded, was created to help Syrian youth develop their many skills and business ideas. 

Developing Entrepreneurship Amongst Syrian Refugees

More than 100 young people participated in various workshops – including robotics, creative visioning, fashion design and artificial intelligence – which were all designed to empower and foster creativity.

Promoting entrepreneurial skills in young people means they will be equipped to find their own solutions to everyday challenges. Drive, ambition and the ability to problem-solve ensures they’ll become changemakers in their communities. 

Mahmoud (13) at Start-Up Za’atari shows off his new invention, a motorised wheelchair. Using a bike mechanism and a lever, the redesigned wheelchair will allow users to be more independent. Jordan | 2018 | Herwig

Participants were encouraged to become creators, business owners and inventors rather than just students. By taking ownership of their talents and business ideas, these young people can transform themselves and the lives of their family. 

No Syrian child has escaped the war unscathed. Whether it’s through forced migration, loss, physical injury or emotional trauma, all Syrian children bear the scars of conflict. 

Generation That Will Rebuild Syria>

Children are often the forgotten victims in a humanitarian crisis, but Joan’s legacy gift has provided Za’atari’s children with the promise of a brighter future. 

The skills to run a business will be invaluable when it comes to rebuilding Syria and boosting the local economy within Za’atari. 

Joan’s final gift has empowered vulnerable young people to create positive change in their communities. 

*Donor’s real name has been changed to protect her privacy.