It is an image that sums up the desperation of millions of Syrian refugees living throughout the region: a man selling a handful of pens by the side of the road in Beirut, Lebanon, with his exhausted daughter hanging over his shoulder.

The picture of Abdul Haleem al-Kader, a single father, and his four-year-old Reem, was posted on social media by Icelandic activist Gissur Simonarson and shared tens of thousands of times with the hashtag #buypens.

He was inundated with offers of donations for social media users, so decided to launch a crowdfunding page to raise money to help Abdul start a new life for his daughter and nine-year-old son Abdelillah.