--- title: Malala Yousafzai Hopes to Raise $1.4B For Syrian Refugees description: Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai will urge world leaders to set aside $1.4 billion this year toward educating Syrian refugee children. canonical: https://time.com/4201720/malala-yousafzai-syrian-refugees/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-31T22:00:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T09:10:06.897Z article:section: World og:title: Malala to Seek $1.4 Billion to Educate Refugee Kids og:description: "I can't forget them" og:url: https://time.com/4201720/malala-yousafzai-syrian-refugees/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca8e105fd6473735/69887b7fcd1bba1b726ff342/malala-yousafzai-syria-refugees.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Malala Yousafzai Unveils Her Official Portrait By Nasser Azam og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Malala to Seek $1.4 Billion to Educate Refugee Kids twitter:description: "I can't forget them" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca8e105fd6473735/69887b7fcd1bba1b726ff342/malala-yousafzai-syria-refugees.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Malala Yousafzai to Seek $1.4 Billion to Educate Syrian Refugees  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jan 31, 2016 10:00 PM CUT  Malala Yousafzai gives a speech as she unveils her official portrait by artist Nasser Azam at Barbar Institute Of Fine Art on Nov. 29, 2015 in Birmingham, England. Malala Yousafzai gives a speech as she unveils her official portrait by artist Nasser Azam at Barbar Institute Of Fine Art on Nov. 29, 2015 in Birmingham, England.Richard Stonehouse-Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jan 31, 2016 10:00 PM CUT Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai will [urge world leaders to set aside $1.4 billion](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/malala-yousafzai-seeks-raise-1-4-billion-educate-syrian-refugees-n508141 "undefined") this year toward educating Syrian refugee children, she said Sunday. The 18-year-old [Pakistani education activist](http://time.com/4027099/malala-refugee-crisis-angela-merkel/ "undefined") told _Reuters_ that she will make the call to heads of state and government and ministers from countries around the world at a conference in London on Thursday. The goal of the “Supporting Syria and the region” conference is to raise funds for humanitarian crises caused by the Syrian war, according to its website. “I have met so many [Syrian refugee children](http://time.com/4010034/syrian-refugee-mothers-jordan/ "undefined"), they are still in my mind. I can’t forget them,” Yousafzai said. “The thought that they won’t be able to go to school in their whole life is completely shocking and I cannot accept it.” “We can still help them, we can still protect them. They are not lost yet,” she added. “They need schools. They need books. They need teachers. This is the way we can protect the future of Syria.” Yousafzai was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman on her school bus in 2012 and later became an advocate for education. She became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2014. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/malala-yousafzai-seeks-raise-1-4-billion-educate-syrian-refugees-n508141 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4201720/malala-yousafzai-syrian-refugees/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4201720/malala-yousafzai-syrian-refugees/"},"headline":"Malala Yousafzai to Seek $1.4 Billion to Educate Syrian Refugees","datePublished":"2016-01-31T22:00:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:10:06.897Z","description":"\"I can't forget them\"","url":"https://time.com/4201720/malala-yousafzai-syrian-refugees/","keywords":["Syria"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca8e105fd6473735/69887b7fcd1bba1b726ff342/malala-yousafzai-syria-refugees.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca8e105fd6473735/69887b7fcd1bba1b726ff342/malala-yousafzai-syria-refugees.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Malala Yousafzai Unveils Her Official Portrait By Nasser Azam","caption":"Malala Yousafzai gives a speech as she unveils her official portrait by artist Nasser Azam at Barbar Institute Of Fine Art on Nov. 29, 2015 in Birmingham, England.","creditText":"Richard Stonehouse-Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/syria/","name":"Syria"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4201720/malala-yousafzai-syrian-refugees/","name":"Malala Yousafzai to Seek $1.4 Billion to Educate Syrian Refugees"}}]}] ```