Winter in Syria can be cold. With over 11 million people made homeless since the beginning of the war in 2011, many people are without enough heating or shelter during the cold winter months. A group of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) students has set out to change that.
The team of six, led by MIT Sloan School of Management undergraduate Vick Liu, created TravlerPack, a light sleeping bag that can stand up to temperatures as cold as -10℃, with the goal of sending the bags to Syrian refugees (难民).
During a freshman exercise last year, Liu was among a group of students discussing startup ideas when he realized he was interested in creating something that would help people. He wrote the idea for TravlerPack on a piece of paper and put it in his pocket so he wouldn’t forget it.
With fuel (燃料) and shelter hard to come by, refugees have few ways to keep warm during the Syrian winters. But a sleeping bag doesn’t require fuel. “It’s a simple solution to a big problem,” said Liu.
Liu and his team spoke directly with refugees to find out what additions to the bag they might need. They found that refugees had no way to store valuables, especially at night, so each TravlerPack contains one outside storage pocket and five inside storage pockets. When not being used, TravlerPack can be pressed down into a small bag, which can be worn as a backpack, allowing refugees to keep both hands free.
After reaching out to around 80 producers, the team officially partnered with one in April to make the sleeping bags.
The team reached out to many non-profits (非盈利性机构) and, luckily, NuDay Syria, a non-profit with experience of sending goods to Syrian refugees, signed on to send the packs to Northwestern Syria.
In September, the group started a GoFundMe movement to raise $15,000 to send TravlerPacks to Syrian refugees, and quickly reached their goal. Now the team is raising more money to send 1,000 bags overseas.
“We’ve been really lucky the whole way through,” Liu said. “This has been a journey of luck and a lot of planning.”
12. Why did Vick Liu create TravlerPack?
A.To sell sleeping bags to travelers. |
B.To solve a big problem at his school. |
C.To meet the needs of Syrian refugees. |
D.To complete a task given by his team. |
13. Why did Vick Liu and his team talk with refugees directly?
A.To check if they were receiving TravlerPacks. |
B.To see how many sleeping bags they needed. |
C.To try their best to improve TravlerPacks. |
D.To deal with their money problems. |
14. What can we learn about Vick Liu’s team?
A.They have received great support. |
B.They will put TravlerPacks to the test soon |
C.They plan to advertise TravlerPacks worldwide |
D.They found it easy to send sleeping bags to refugees. |
15. Which of the following can be used to describe Vick Liu?
A.Kind and strict. |
B.Intelligent and sensitive. |
C.Creative and thoughtful. |
D.Humorous and talkative. |