Murhaf Hamid smashed a charity fundraising record when he raised $233,000 for charity. The 11-year-old Swedish asylum seeker raised the money by selling paper flower pins.
This is totally outstanding. We have never ever seen anything like it before. Murhaf is one of those children that we normally would have helped. [Instead] he has helped himself and he has helped a lot of children in poverty in Sweden.
Ase Henell, head of the Majblomman charity in AFP
Hamid took part in the Majblomman (Mayflower) children’s charity, an annual Swedish charity event. The charity helps poor children in Sweden by providing them with clothing and utilities they can’t afford. Young children between the ages of 9–12 participate in a campaign by selling flower pins door-to-door and online.
Children are allowed to keep extra tips and ten percent of the earnings as commission. Hamid had hoped to make a profit of 100 kronor (approximately $10). This money was sufficient for a pizza with his friends.
Unfortunately, his first day of fundraising didn’t go well. Hamid was born in the Southern part of Sweden to Ethiopian parents. He consequently experienced racism while fundraising with several adults telling him to leave the street. He sold only a few pins in 5 hours.
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His story went viral when a family friend published it in a Facebook post. It brought attention to the plight of a Black boy and multitudes purchased his flower pins. Hamid sold pins to several politicians including Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
He went on to raise a total of 2.4 million kronor ($233,000) and smashed the fundraising record. Children usually raise around 1,300 kronor ($126). The record was previously held by a ten-year-old boy who raised around €11,400 in 2022. Hamid received an additional $11,000 in tips from donors worldwide.