Famed foreign correspondent Christiane Amanpour has stepped forward to help a struggling journalism project associated with a former friend, long-time reporter Marie Colvin who was killed in Syria this year.

CNN's Amanpour forked over about $10,000 to a money-starved campaign to fund journalism students at New York's Stony Brook University's Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting who hoped to travel to Africa for a "journalism without walls" program.

Stony Brook journalism professor Ilana Ozernoy told Secrets that the fundraising campaign for the trip was derailed by Hurricane Sandy and when Amanpour heard of the funding issues, she simply said, "this must be done." Amanpour has helped the school before in an effort to aid aspiring foreign correspondents and honor her friend, Colvin.

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Ozernoy said that about a dozen students are planning to make the two-week trip, report on what they find and then pitch their stories to major publications. "Without her contribution, we wouldn't have made our goal," she said. "It confirms that Christiane believes in our mission."