Nobel Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai celebrated her 18th birthday by opening a school dedicated for Syrian regugee girls in Lebanon on July 12, Reuters reports.
The Pakistani activist was the youngest to receive a Nobel Prize award in 2014, after continuing her campaign for girls' rights to education despite being shot on a school bus by the Taliban when she was fighting for her advocacy in her country in 2012.
"Today on my first day as an adult, on behalf of the world's children, I demand of leaders we must invest in books instead of bullets," Malala told the attendees in a speech.
As part of her passion project, The Malala Fund built a school in Bekaa Valley, which is located near the Syrian border. The school offers to teach up to 200 girls from age 14 to 18.
"I decided to be in Lebanon because I believe that the voices of the Syrian refugees need to be heard and they have been ignored for so long," she told Reuters during her interview inside a classroom decorated with butterfly drawings.
Reuters added that Lebanon is informally resided by 1.2 million refugees who ran away from the war in Syria. Out of 500,000 Syrian children living in the neighboring countries, only 100,000 are able to get formal education.
"In Lebanon as well as in Jordan, an increasing number of refugees are being turned back at the border," Malala added. "This is inhuman and this is shameful."
According to the United Nations, Syrian refugees will reach 4.27 million by the end of 2015. The four-year war in Syria continues to scare away citizens and find refuge in its neighboring countries.
Zauddin Yousafzai, Malala's father, told reporters he couldn't be more proud of his daughter in continuing her mission as she grows into an adult.
"This is the mission we have taken for the last 8-9 years. A small moment for the education of girls in Swat Valley: it is spreading now all over the world," he stated.
Celebrating her birthday with young Syrian girls singing and asking for advice, Malala shed joyful tears as she witnessed hope among her refugee students.
#Malala: "Thank you for giving me the greatest birthday gift... choosing #booksnotbullets." https://t.co/fMqtQtQw0v pic.twitter.com/vO9rsQ16lU
— Malala Fund (@MalalaFund) July 12, 2015
