Young Saultites sell lemonade for soup kitchen

Despite their young ages of five and seven, Abrish Eman and Hanzalah Jadoon have always shown enthusiasm when it comes to helping others. Last month, they decided to hold a lemonade stand and give the money they raised to a local charity. 

“Hanzalah woke up one morning and said ‘Dad, I need to earn money. I want to support the needy, so I need money but I would prefer not to get the money from you. I need to bring it in myself,’” said Nasir Khan, the children's father. 

“I told him that he had to come up with a plan for earning the money for this cause and that I would help him with it, but the idea had to be his own. It was sort of a challenge for him, but he accepted,” Khan said. 

It took Hanzalah a while but he finally came up with the idea of setting up a lemonade stand to raise funds. After being given a few choices, he decided on donating the money to the Soup Kitchen. 

Hanzalah and Abrish designed and printed invitation cards with the menu and prices and invited neighbours and friends, all while respecting COVID-19 limitations. Their mother helped them make a batch of brownies and other desserts to offer alongside the lemonade. 

“The other children who joined in the occasion were very excited when Hanzalah and Abrish told them that they were fundraising to help the needy. They ended up raising $88 for the Soup Kitchen,” Khan said. “When Hanzalah and Abrish went to the Soup Kitchen to hand in the money, their faces were red with excitement, and they told themselves that they will continue to help others in need.”

“My son always says that ‘kindness brings kindness’ and if we are kind to other people then they will be kind to us,” Khan said. 

The family moved to Sault Ste. Marie in 2017 from Guelph, Ontario, after Khan received a job offer at Tenaris Algoma Tubes. 

“I graduated from the University of Ottawa in 2016 after completing my master’s degree in mechanical engineering and then moved to Guelph and was working there. In 2017, I got a call from Algoma Tubes and that’s what brought us here,” Khan said. 

The plan was to stay in the Sault for only six months after friends and family told him that the city was very small and he wouldn’t like it. 

“I said that I’m just going there for six months and after gaining experience I will come back,” he said.  “Now it’s been three years and we have no plans to move back. I find the people here very welcoming and the city very peaceful. It’s a beautiful place.”