People were struck by a photo of this single dad. So they found him and gave him $191,000.

My faith in humanity is officially restored.

 Wagatwe Wanjuki
09.01.15

Meet Abdul Haleem al-Kader. He's been supporting this family by selling pens for the past three years.

Can't argue with that. Images via Al Jazeera English/Facebook.

Now, thanks to the kindness of strangers (and a single tweet), his life of selling pens on the streets of Lebanon may be over.

When Gissur Simonarson tweeted a photo of him selling pens in Beirut as he carried his sleeping 9-year-old daughter, it spread like wildfire.


Touched by the father's dedication, an online hunt to find al-Kader began. Conflict News took to Twitter using #GetPens and @Get_Pens to find him.



Thanks to the power of the Internet, they were able to find him and share even more of his story with the world.

Abdul Haleem al-Kader is a Syrian refugee and single father. Unable to find employment, he began selling pens to provide food for his children.

He left his war-torn country to create a new life for his family in Lebanon. Then, after some time in Beirut, his wife left him with their two children — ages 5 and 9 — after he refused to go back to Syria.

Moved by the story of the hardworking, single father refugee, Simonarson created an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for al-Kader and his family.

An empathetic public helped reach the initial goal of $5,000 in 30 minutes. When the fundraiser ended, over $191,000 had been raised. To put this in perspective: He made about $35 on a good day from selling pens.

Simonarson is teaming up with UNICEF to get the money to al-Kader and his family, as well as make sure they remain safe amid all the media attention.

The success of the #BuyPens campaign shows just how relatable his determination and love for his children are.

The campaign's success serves as a reminder of our common humanity. While most of us have not had to leave our home due to civil war, many of us know (or are) people working hard for a better life. His resiliency and dedication struck a chord with people around the world because the desire to do anything possible to help our loved ones is truly universal.


To make this story even sweeter, al-Kader wants to pay the kindness forward to help other Syrian refugees.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, he said: "I hope this campaign grows to help all Syrians. I hope other Syrians get a campaign the way I got a campaign, and people can see the conditions they are in."

If you want to contribute to the campaign, visit the Indiegogo page here.

democracy empathy for all human condition humanity and culture justice inspirational citizenship democracy international uplifting parenting and children war peace terrorism parenting good deeds generosity giving
More

Lush to shut down all stores and operations, asking 5000+ employees to march for climate crisis

CEO says it's a "no brainer."

LUSH

Handmade cosmetics company Lush is putting its money where its mouth is and taking a bold step for climate change action.

On September 20 in the U.S. and September 27 in Canada, Lush will shut the doors of its 250 shops, e-commerce sites, manufacturing facilities, and headquarters for a day, in solidarity with the Global Climate Strike taking place around the world. Lush is encouraging its 5000+ employees "to join this critical movement and take a stand until global leaders are forced to face the climate crisis and enact change."

Keep Reading Show less
climate strike environment climate change climate crisis
Planet

145 top CEOs sign letter to congress demanding action on gun control

Photo by Annie Bolin on Unsplash

Recent tragic mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton have sparked a lot of conversation and action on the state level over the issue of gun control. But none may be as encouraging as the most recent one, in which 145 CEOs signed a letter urging the U.S. Senate to take action at their level.

Keep Reading Show less
gun violence congress gun control
popular

Forbes' 100 Most Innovative Leaders list includes 99 men. Here's how their methodology was flawed

Come on, guys.

Forbes/Twitter

The fine folks at Forbes are currently falling all over themselves trying to clean up the mess they created by publishing their 2019 list of 100 Most Innovative Leaders.

The problem: The list included 99 men and one woman. For those not so good with the math, that means according to Forbes, only 1% of the country's most innovative leaders are female.

Have you ever watched a movie that's so abysmally bad that you wonder how it ever even got made? Where you think, "Hundreds and hundreds of people had to have been directly involved in the production of this film. Did any of them ever think to say, 'Hey, maybe we should just scrap this idea altogether?"

That's how it feels to see a list like this. So how did Forbes come up with these results?

Keep Reading Show less
Innovation

A smart video flips our trendy recipe obsession to speak volumes about hunger in America

There's something delicious and addicting about those trendy recipe videos circulating online. You've seen them before: the quick and beautiful play-by-plays of mouthwatering dishes you wish you were eating at this very moment.

The recipes seem so simple and magical and get you thinking, "Maybe I can make that five-cheese bacon lasagna tonight." And before you know it, you're at the store loading up on Colby-Monterey Jack (or is that just me?).

For some families, though, the ingredients and final product look a little different. As part of Hunger Action Month, the hunger-relief organization Feeding America is using our obsession with cooking videos to highlight the reality many food-insecure families face when they sit down for dinner: hunger, and no food in sight.

By putting a twist on the bite-sized food videos all over the internet, they hope to raise awareness that hunger is an unacceptable reality for too many families.

Keep Reading Show less
Family
True
Gates Foundation: The Story of Food