Orphans, charity, love, humanity and more…
I have had this project in mind for the past 2 years…I was perhaps a little to ambitious in my mind. I would have wanted to produce more items and give back as much as possible. As I decided to “retire” from the fashion industry and no longer create massive collections, I decided to venture into more of a humane/ethical world. I wanted to put myself to good use and make a positive impact in my community…which led me to think, why not use the fabrics/trims/buttons for a good cause. I wanted to create these items for the purpose of making children happy. I wanted to make 100 dresses (initially) for charity and give them to orphaned children in Jordan. I completely fell in love with the country and wanted to perhaps be able to leave a positive mark there. I searched high an low for the right place to invest my time in and with the help of some wonderful people, I was able to find the perfect place I will give my dresses to (will be keeping the name anonymous for the moment).
As I work on many different project from running a business, to working full-time, to blogging, to planning a wedding…this project was on the back-burner. Truthfully, I was super disappointed with myself for not being able to complete the set amount. After some struggles and some squeezed time, I was able to complete 35 dresses. That doesn’t mean I will not set another goal, it just means that for the moment, this is what I have.
These dresses are collectives of different fabrics I owned, however, some were donated to me by friends. I used up loads of my trims and buttons to embellish them. I didn’t want to make regular boring dresses, I wanted something cool, different and unique. I wanted to make different size dresses and different dresses. Each one unique to its kind; never the same. I wanted the orphans to feel like princess in the special coming times. Since it will be Ramadan soon for us Muslims, Eid will follow. Taking the time to make these dresses in time to make the children feel happy and joyful is super humbling. I wanted to be able to offer those little beautiful angels something special just like them. Eid is a time of celebration for us, it is the time to share your wealth with the needy to make them feel like your equals. It is the time to be happy and celebrate with your loved ones. As Muslims, we grow up with charity instilled in us, because it truly is the essence of religiousness. To be able to share your goods with the needy is a marvelous feeling. It is necessary for me to keep the concept of unlimited love and kindness alive ad going.
Although I didn’t spend much time working of them, I enjoyed every minute and sincerely gave it my all.
PS: this is one is one of my favorite!! I mean look at how cute it looks!! So novelty ❤
I did not just stop at making little girls’ dresses, I decided to go all the way to teens. I did dresses for starting at 2 yrs till about 25 yrs. Now I would have wished that I had the chance to stay at the orphanage for a while and volunteer a little bit all through the holy month of Ramadan…but unfortunately, like I said, sometimes life takes us to different paths…paths we never dreamed of being in.
All in all, these 35 dresses all have a story behind them and I hope that this will at least make the girls happy, even if it’s for a couple of hours. I want to be part of their lives as they are the future and to make them feel loved and wanted is a blessing.
Since I was a little teeny weeny girly, I always wanted to go to Africa and “save” the world. I want to give my time to charity and not have anything in return except gratitude, friendships and memories with real people. Now, I never had the chance to go to Africa (yet), but I decided to start somewhere…although small, I am hoping that it will leave a great and positive impact. Philanthropy is a part of me and I am hoping to continue to share my love of humanity with those around me. For those who are interested in getting involved, you can shoot me an email and I will gladly transfer your messages to those in charge. This is completely non-profit for me. These orphans could use help getting the basic necessities such as school supplies or toiletries.
As Ghandi said; be the change you want to see in the world…I always, since a was little, tried to keep this in mind!
