Maya Cosmetics Eid Drive - Eid Toys Light Up Over 1000 Faces
Childhood is meant for joy, a time for happy memories. However, for the world's one billion “multidimensionally poor” children who lack even basic nutrition and clean water reality differs sharply. “Some 150 million additional children have been plunged into multidimensional poverty due to COVID-19. An estimated 356 million children live in extreme poverty,” according to UNICEF.
If you’ve lived through any shades of poverty yourself, you know just how much joy a new toy can bring. “Growing up as a Muslim child in the UK in the 70's, Eid remained a bit of a mystery to me,” shares Javed Younis, co-founder of Maya Cosmetics, America's leading halal nail polish and halal cosmetics company.
“My family and social circle did very little to acknowledge, and even less to celebrate Eid, because of our circumstances. My parents had left Pakistan in 1962 and migrated to the UK with very little money and very little education. My father was working class, an immigrant struggling to provide for our family of seven. Now that I am a father with four children of my own, I sympathize with his priorities and decisions. This toy drive is personal to me. Whatever each child’s specific circumstances, gifting them with a toy is a special way to share the beauties of Eid and Islam with them, and maybe even put a smile on their faces!”
Eid is the holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. It fell on May 13, 2021, this year. The Maya Cosmetics Eid Drive campaign was conducted online via Launchgood and helped raise over $1800. It was hosted on-site by Maya Cosmetics distributors in Chicago and at company headquarters in Bridgeview, IL, in South Africa, UAE, Pakistan, Philistine, Cambodia, and Canada. Besides in-kind new toy donations, one hundred percent of the money raised online was used to purchase toys for children in need. Together, donors warmed hearts, brought smiles and lit up eyes. More than 1000 children between the ages of 2 and 11 happily received their Eid present in six countries. The agencies helping with the distributions internationally included Sudanese American Charity in Glen Ellyn, IL, a suburb of Chicago, USA; SOS Children's Villages Pakistan in Pakistan; Cambodian Muslim Intellectual Alliance in Cambodia; Habibia Girls Orphanage in South Africa and Sister Sabria Foundation in Montreal, Canada.
Studies show that play whether imaginative or physical is critical to child development. It builds self-esteem and self-awareness starting as early as the 0-3 years. “My eldest daughter and I were fortunate to have a chance to meet many of the 85 refugee families, and distribute the toys ourselves right after Eid prayers, at the Sudanese American Charity. Seeing their joy, and spending time together, felt so much better than just cutting a check.”
“We were very happy to partner with Maya Cosmetics,” says Anwar Sulieman, Head of Finance and Budget Committee. “This toy drive helps clients of the Sudanese American Charity but it is also a chance for donors to earn Allah’s blessings by sharing their wealth. It is a way for donors to give thanks to God, and to take responsibility for spreading their good fortune between those who have the money and those who don’t. We want to continue to partner with organizations like Maya Cosmetics who want to go beyond just making a donation and also want to participate and help us implement our programs on the ground.”
For this maker of halal cosmetics and wudhu friendly halal nail polish, making Eid a celebration for more than 1000 children in need has been a dream that’s finally come true.
