Dua Lipa took to Instagram this week to share images from her visit to Lebanon to meet with children uprooted by the war in Syria.
The 23-year-old singer, who was a guest of UNICEF, spent time with young people in the Terbol settlement in the Bekaa valley and the Burj el Barajneh Palestinian camp.
In the caption for the photos she shared, Lipa called the trip an “eye opening experience.”
She wrote: “No family or child chooses to leave their home. They all have dreams. They all deserve equality and a place to be able to live, learn and reach their full potential. I always believe in children as they are our future and we have to take care of them.”
UNICEF estimates there are about 500,000 young Syrian refugees in Lebanon and many are lacking proper health care and education.
“It was a heartbreaking and emotional yet hopeful experience after seeing these kids still laugh and smile and make the most of a bad situation,” Lipa shared.
In a statement, the pop star said the trip hit close to home because her Kosovar-Albanian parents fled the war-torn Balkans in the early ‘90s.
“Each one of the refugee children I met has parents just like my own, who have tried to make the best decisions they could for their families,” she said. “I feel lucky that I was given a chance, especially from an immigrant family, to have been born in the UK and been able to live my dream, because I had that opportunity and I feel like every other child should have that opportunity too.
“To be able to be in a place where they can thrive and be the best version of themselves.”