The generosity of strangers is now critical to the children and families who have fled the conflict in Syria.
Forced to leave behind everything they know, their future is uncertain. When asked to consider what lies ahead, many reply, "God only knows."
World Vision is asking Australia to help raise $1 million for Syrian Refugees by 31 October.
Over 6.8 million families have had to abandon their homes, friends, jobs, schools and warm beds since the bloodshed arrived on their doorsteps.
World Vision communicator in Lebanon, Patricia Mouamar, has interviewed many families who are now refugees. She has seen the devastating impact of the war. "All refugees seem to have one thing in common," she says, "It is a look of despair."
Patricia recalls asking a Syrian mother about the home she left behind. "I had a big house, with a big kitchen, a garden and a bed for each of my children," the mother replied. But their homes, jobs and dreams were shattered by the conflict.
Grieving the recent loss of her own father, Patricia was consoled by many of the refugees she had met. They showed her that, in spite of their own grief, "they care not only about their own loss, but also about the loss of others".
"I personally had the luxury of crying over my father’s tomb, and praying at his funeral," Patricia shares. But as she has learnt, many Syrians who have lost loved ones are denied this basic right. It is estimated that more than 100,000 lives have been lost in the conflict.
A refugee mother Patricia met recently explained: "I lost two sons in a bombing a few months back. I just received a call informing me of their death. I don't know whether they are buried or just thrown on the side of a street."
Sadly, it is the children who bear witness to this violence with more than half the refugees fleeing the conflict being children.