Pakistani Malala Yousafzai is the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. On Sunday July 12, she celebrated her 18th birthday by opening a school inLebanon. The school serves Syrian refugee girls in the Bekaa Valley.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, center, speaks with Syrian refugee girls during her visit to Bekaa Valley, east Lebanon on July 12, 2015.

Ms. Yousafzai has been an education activist for years and at great risk. In 2012, Taliban gunmen shot the 15 year-old school girl in the head. They saidthey did it because she supported education rights for females.

Ms. Yousafzai survived the attack and continued to fight for education. In 2014, she won the Nobel Peace Prize.

On Sunday, the activist spoke in a school room surrounded by drawings of butterflies. She said people need to pay more attention to refugees from Syria.

"I decided to be in Lebanon because I believe that the voices of the Syrianrefugees need to be heard and they have been ignored for so long."

Opening of the Malala Yousafzai girls’ school

Ms. Yousafzai also said leaders must buy books instead of bullets.

"Today on my first day as an adult, on behalf of the world's children, Idemand of leaders we must invest in books instead of bullets. Books, notbullets, will pave the path towards peace and prosperity."

The Malala Fund is a non-profit organization that supports local educationprojects. It paid for the school in the Bekaa Valley, close to the Syrian border.Up to 200 girls aged 14 to 18 can attend the school.

There are 1.2 million refugees from Syria's war in Lebanon. In all, four millionpeople have fled to neighboring countries. There are about 500,000 Syrianchildren in Lebanon. Only about 100,000 of them are attending school.

The sharp increase in the number of refugees in Lebanon has causedeconomic difficulty. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees saysover half of Syrian refugees in Lebanon are under 18. Most of the refugeesneed humanitarian aid. Twenty percent of the people now in Lebanon arerefugees.

Too little money for food aid to Syrian refugees

The U.N. also says the number of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries isgrowing. And the World Food Program, or WFP, does not have the financialsupport that governments said they would provide. Last month, the agencyreported it had not received seventy-five percent of the money promised byseveral governments.

On July first, the WFP announced it would cut the amount given to Syrianrefugees in Lebanon for food to about half of one dollar per person per day. InJordan, most refugees live below the poverty line of $3.20 per day.

Ms. Yousafzai said that Jordan and Lebanon are barring some Syrianrefugees from entering their countries. She called the situation inhuman andshameful.

The United Nations reports that pressure on host countries continues to grow.Some six million people are displaced in Syria and neighboring countries. It isbecoming more difficult for Syrians to find a safe place in the area. So, moreare planning even riskier trips. They attempt dangerous travel across theMediterranean Sea to try to reach Europe. Many Syrians have died on theseattempts.

A lifelong mission

Malala Yousafzai’s father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, said he was proud that hisdaughter was continuing her activism as an adult.

"The mission she was carrying with her life when she was hardly an 11 yearsold in Swat Valley, when Taliban banned girls’ education and they bombedmany, many schools, she stood for her right. After [the] attack, that smallevent on a very small local level, it turned into a global campaign foreducation.”

At the Malala Yousafzai All-Girls School, students sang Happy Birthday andgave Ms. Yousafzai a birthday cake. The warm welcome led to tears of joy.Ms. Yousafzai said the girls did not need advice from her.

"They are amazing, I don't think they need any message, I don't think theyneed any other advice because they know that education is very important forthem."

Words in This Story

activist- n. a person who uses or supports strong actions (such as publicprotests) to help make changes in politics or society

on behalf of someone- as a representative of someone

pave (the way for) - v. to make it easier for something to happen or for someone to do something

inhuman- adj. very fierce or cruel?

displaced -adj. people who have been forced to leave the area/country wherethey live