Empowering woman saving hopes and mental health of Ukrainian children

Kenza Hadij-Brahim is at the forefront of promoting Circle of Toys

Toys are something that millions of children across the world take for granted every day. But if you’re fleeing a war zone a simple stuffed animal goes from necessity to luxury. After a chance encounter in a coffee shop with the Find Refuge CEO, Kenza Hadj-Brahim landed herself a job at the platform that connects those in need with those who can help. Just a few months later, Hadj-Brahim is helping to launch the Circle of Toys initiative. A project that provides Ukrainian children in need of some normality with preloved toys. Find Refuge was borne out of a desire to help the millions of Ukrainians affected by the Russian invasion of their country. A staggering 80 percent of children have been affected by the ongoing war. Now, with the platform still in its infancy and with the help of Hadj-Brahim’s compassion, they have launched Circle of Toys. READ MORE: Desperate Ukrainians 'swim dangerous rivers' to flee country and escape draft

Circle of Toys launched two weeks ago and already has 200 donors

This new initiative connects people with old toys they might otherwise throw away, with Ukrainian families in need who want to provide some comfort to their children in this distressing time. Find Refuge told Daily Express US: “The endeavour is driven by a sincere purpose: spark joy, foster play, and bring a hint of normalcy back to the young lives in Ukraine.” Hadj-Brahim, 26, would regularly serve the founder of Find Refuge Arthur Corvin Powells in the café she worked in while studying for her master’s in London. After the two got chatting, he offered her an interview, and a few months later she’s running new initiatives and heading up the marketing for the platform. Hadj-Brahim explains the importance of the Circle of Toys initiative as something much bigger than just allowing children to have a stuffed animal; psychologically, it couldn’t be more important. She said: “We discussed with our psychological volunteers, and they said that it was very important for a kid's development and mental health to play with toys and just to develop their minds properly. So this is where the initiate the initiative came from.”

Toys are not only fun for children, they help their mental health also

The initiative launched two weeks ago and they already have roughly 200 volunteers willing to give their old toys away. But this, sadly, will not be enough. Hadj-Brahim explains that they’ve already received 7000 requests for toys, 35 times more than the number of volunteers. But it’s still early days and they expect the number of volunteers to keep rising as the project gets more traction and attention online. She said: “My personal hope is that every request is accepted. That would be the best thing that could happen of course. But I’m also very happy that we can show children who have lost a little hope that there’s other people around the world that can help. Maybe they can keep hope and humanity and see there are some kind souls that still exist.”

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