I am not a hero, but I have been fortunate enough to meet many of them. Women and men who spend significant parts of their lives dedicated to working directly with those in need all over the world, including right here in the United States. I understand how hard it is to set up an organization that does what it intends to do. And when that intention is to help those most in need, the pressure is palpable. As chance would have it, I was able to connect with another friend while in Beirut who has started an organization simply called Help Refugees.

While the name is simple, what they do is far from easy. Help Refugees has been able to raise significant amounts of funding, which they use on the ground inside camps in some of the most hectic places on the planet. The impact that they are making is real and very encouraging.

I was introduced to another young man from America who has been working on solving solutions inside camps using tech. He told me: “These people have nothing, barely enough to survive from day to day. But you know what most of them have? A smart phone.” He is working on ways for refugees to use their phone as tools to help themselves day to day further than just being able to communicate with each other. He has actually held a hack-a-thon inside of a refugee camp.