Australian walk for Yemeni boy
Donation protected
Saleem al-Harazi was 11 years-old when he was shot on March 18, 2011 during Yemen's revolution. Amazingly he survived. But the bullet that passed through the front of his head resulted in doctors having to remove his eyes, leaving him blind.
In the last year Saleem's life has changed. He now studies at al-Noor Institute for the blind in Sana'a, Yemen and has taken to riding his bicycle with guidance from his younger brother, Saif.
A young boy in Australia, Jylon Grandy, read about Saleem's story and decided he wanted to do something to help him. On Sunday October 28, 2012, 10 year-old Jylon will be walking six kilometres to Doncaster Primary School in Melbourne, Australia with his 8 year-old brother, Ashton (pictured above), to raise money for a 12 year-old boy in Yemen.
The money raised by Jylon will be used to buy an MP3 player with a voice over in Arabic, to purchase audio books and other listening material for Saleem. Jylon will also select some gifts to send to Saleem in Yemen.
As a Yemen-based journalist who has been involved in Saleem's story Jylon's father contacted me asking how they could get the money raised to Saleem in Yemen. My aim in setting up this fundraising page is to enable more people to support Jylon's amazing effort and kindness.
A child in Australia, inspired by a young boy in Yemen. The two have never met and live thousands of miles apart. As children they, and their respective siblings, have shown a heart-warming example of humanity that deserves encouragement and support.
If you're not able to donate please just share the link to this page. Thank you.
UPDATE 27/10/2012:
Jylon and Ashton in Melbourne, Australia managed to chat with Saleem in Sana'a, Yemen via Skype yesterday (Friday).
When they asked Saleem what he would like most he said: 'Anything that can help me to read.'
Saleem will start learning to read braille at school after the Eid holiday. He told the boys in Australia he wants to be a scientist and he's most interested in history books.
Hopefully the start of a long friendship.
Saleem and his father would like to thank all those who've so generously donated.
UPDATE 31/10/2012
SBS News in Australia covered Jylon and Ashton's walk on Sunday and interviewed the boys. You can read the full story here.
More than $2,000 has now been raised, on and offline.
The boys in Australia plan to visit the Blind Institute in Melbourne this week to investigate what resources may be suitable for Saleem.
With the amount of money donated going far beyond expectations, the Grandy family proposes to put the balance of the funds towards Saleem's future medical bills and education.
Once again, a huge thank you to everyone who has donated money, supported all these boys and shared their story.
Organizer
Iona Craig
Organizer
