A 9-year-old schoolboy from Hampton has raised £5,315 for the crisis in Yemen through designing, creating and selling Eid cards that have been delivered as far as San Francisco and Dubai.
Omer Olcer, whose parents are of Turkish origins, sold around 500 cards in his school, mosques and local businesses. He also spread the word on Whatsapp and Instagram through family members – and got people to buy cards in Dubai, Turkey, San Francisco, Germany as well as throughout the UK.
The money raised will go to Islamic Relief’s Yemen appeal.
Omer said: ‘I wanted to do something to give back for Ramadan because it’s such an important time of sacrifice for Muslims. I researched the biggest problems because there are so many in the world. I learned that Yemen is on the brink of the worst famine in 100 years – with 130 children dying every day.
‘My au pair told me she supports Islamic Relief and I looked into the charity and found out it does a lot of work, especially in Yemen. So I decided to donate the money from the cards to Islamic Relief’s Yemen appeal.
‘It’s important to remember that we’re fortunate and have to help others who aren’t. I’m very lucky and am not suffering – so why should other people suffer? When I grow up I want to be a footballer like Mo Salah, and use my money to give back to charities.’
Ayesha Malik, National Community Fundraising Operations Manager at Islamic Relief UK, said: ‘We are so humbled by Omer’s generosity, which there’s no doubt will save many lives. Allah said in the Quran that if you save a life, it is as though you have saved all mankind.’