“People in Palestine are getting hurt and they have no more water and food and houses, because their houses are being bombed and we wanted to help them,” Ayaan said. While still fundraising for Yemen and the Rohingya, Ayaan and Mikaeel have also turned their attention to the Palestinian cause, following an 11-day war that rocked the Gaza Strip last month. “We squeezed the lemons, and then we made the lemonade with our special ingredients, and then we stood outside, and then we got the money, we gave it to the bank, and then the bank put it into our charity,” the boys said.Ī post shared by Ayaan & Mikaeel lemonade? “Because we think everyone likes lemonade, and we like lemonade too,” they said. They have also received support from some of their favorite footballers, including Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United and David Luiz of Arsenal.ĭuring the Muslim month of Ramadan, the boys raised £25,000 for the Rohingya by selling lemonade and with international donations via their JustGiving page. “I would like to nominate you for a Gold Blue Peter Badge, you’re a pair of little legends, wear it with pride because you guys deserve it,” he said. Stormzy sent them a recorded message saying when he was their age he wasn’t doing lemonade stands and inspiring people the way they have. Stormzy recorded a special message for 2 boys who raised £100k with ‘Lemonade for Yemen-aid’, AND nominated them for Gold Blue Peter Badges!!īlue Peter Gold Badge Awards, on and right now! /gsrQ6YqVSB Following that, they won the Rotary Great Britain and Ireland Young Citizen Awards for their humanitarian causes because they raised so much money. They were nominated for a gold Blue Peter Badge, the highest award given for exceptional achievement by the BBC children’s program, by the British rapper Stormzy. Off the back of that the boys won some big accolades. Jolie made a very generous donation to the stand and sent the boys some presents to gain them more publicity. She’s been a big inspiration, and a big support in the stuff that they are up to.and when she is in London next, we are going to try to get her to come over and meet the boys and get a glass of lemonade,” Moosa said. She saw the story and she thought, how are two seven-year-old boys able to bring that much international attention to the famine and the crisis that is going on in in Yemen, how are they able to do that? “Not very many people wanted to cover it, even given her high profile. She had been trying to raise awareness for Yemen and obviously she is considered quite a high-list celebrity, but she was struggling to get such a sad story into the news,” Ayaan’s father Shakil Moosa said. (Jolie) saw the interview they gave on the BBC (website). The Yemen fundraising initiative caught the attention of award-winning actress and human rights campaigner Angelina Jolie, who was trying to gain media and international attention for the plight in Yemen.Īngelina Jolie made a very generous donation to the stand and sent the boys some presents to gain them more publicity. We did not expect it, but we were hoping for it, they told Arab News. LONDON: Two seven-year-old boys have single-handedly managed to up the world of philanthropy and the act of giving, as they aim to raise “a quadrillion pounds for every single country” they are supporting.īest friends Ayaan Moosa and Mikaeel Ishaaq, from Ilford in east London, set up their homemade lemonade stand to raise £500 ($700) for Yemen’s humanitarian and famine crisis and, to their surprise, managed to raise £140,000, gaining them international recognition in such a short span as their campaign went viral.

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