It will cost you... nothing! A Turkmen woman named Maya opened a charity shop in Kent
10.02.2023 | 19:48 |In the center of the English city of Herne Bay in Kent a shop offering free clothes, pillows, bags and other household items has opened to help the most vulnerable category of the population. The outlet is replenished daily with goods due to donations from people. The author of the unique and one-of-a-kind project is Maya Amangeldyeva, a resident of Herne Bay, who moved to England from Turkmenistan 15 years ago.
The people of the county admire her enthusiasm and desire to help anyone who is experiencing financial difficulties and needs support. After all, many of them come to her charity point - someone brings their donations - it can be clothes, household utensils, shoes, money, etc., and someone buys the goods they need, Mail Online writes.
May's, located on one of Herne Bay's main streets, allows shoppers to take whatever they want for free. “I don't ask any questions, and we don't care about the income of the visitor - anyone can use our free store. We receive donations all the time. Today we had more than 100 bags of things and replenishment is going on daily. And, frankly, we have enough clothes to dress the whole of Kent,” Maya Amangeldyeva says.
Mai's charitable project is funded entirely by donations and cash from community organizations and the county's community and helps the most vulnerable citizens in the face of rising food and energy prices. In addition, the idea is "green" - it's about recycling used items, recycling, saving waste and protecting the planet from garbage, the owner of the shop says.
Maya Amangeldyeva, a mother of three, is also the owner of a public cafe for the poor and homeless, which she has run since 2015. “The idea to open a store came the day I installed a clothes rack in our cafe, which had about 20 items. People started bringing so many things that we had to open a charity shop,” Maya says.
Today, 150 volunteers help her in the cafe and shop. With the donated money, she pays for the rent of the premises, the cost of electricity, and the rest goes to the food bank, which is intended only for those in need. Local supermarkets support this project and donate food that may have been thrown away.
Maya's good deeds also include opening a free barbershop in the city and installing showers for the homeless. And on Christmas she opened her cafe to feed the needy and lonely people.
For the county of Kent, Maya Amangeldyeva from Turkmenistan has become a legendary figure, and the citizens of Herne Bay admire her big and kind heart, the English edition writes.
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