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WARREN — On July 12, in a training room on the first floor of the General Motors Technical Center, several volunteers from the group MENA got serious about something fun.
They spent the afternoon wrapping toys to be distributed to children — from infancy to age 17 — who with their families are Afghan refugees.
The gifts were purchased by GM employees who are members of MENA, which stands for Middle East North Africa. MENA members purchased the gifts based on an Amazon wish list. The group bought 305 toys for 75 families in Detroit, Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor.
The charity group MENA partnered with Mercy-USA for Aid and Development Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people help themselves locally and internationally. The MENA toy drive was held in conjunction with the Muslim holiday Eid, and the gifts were to be distributed July 13.
“Eid is a very festive time for us. This is our third toy drive,” said Anam Ahmed, deputy programs manager at the Plymouth office of Mercy-USA. “The families come here with absolutely nothing and for a while there’s a huge transition. A lot of times they feel nobody cares about them. They’re so grateful to have this personal touch of community members distributing toys. Kids are really excited at the things they receive. It’s very rewarding to see.”
Malek Sarhan, electric charging project manager for GM, oversees the community service team for MENA. He said there are about 700 members in the group, and some are immigrants, or their parents are.
“You don’t have to be Middle Eastern to be in MENA,” Sarhan said, adding the toy drive is the group’s biggest event of the year. “It’s an opportunity to give. Each child was assigned a gift. They’ll all educational-based toys since English is a second language (for the children).”
The toys included science kits, toy blocks, LeapFrog games, STEM kits and art sets. GM employee and MENA member Abdallah El-Saghir was among the volunteers who assisted with wrapping toys.
“It’s a way to give back and to help the community,” he said.
Kimberly Bond, an employee at the GM Milford Proving Ground, drove to Warren to help wrap toys for the children. Although not a MENA member, she just wanted to volunteer her time after receiving an email about the toy drive.
“I figured I’d help out,” said Bond, who has volunteered her time in the past. “I do Adopt A Family in Milford around Christmas time. It’s fun. I’m glad to help out.”
MENA also does a back-to-school drive for local families. Mercy-USA is headquartered in Plymouth and has offices in Stoney Creek, Ontario, and in other parts of the world, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Turkey and Lebanon. Mercy-USA has a number of programs that provide equipment for children with disabilities, education, workforce training, health care, food distribution, clean water and more.
“One of our biggest projects is earthquake relief,” said Emerson Wigand, Mercy-USA volunteer and community engagement coordinator.
Another priority is the clean water program in Somalia.
“They have built or repaired over 800 wells in Somalia,” Wigand said. “Through that, they have been able to provide clean water to communities with populations up to 750,000 people.”
For more information on Mercy-USA, visit mercyusa.org or call (734) 454-0011.
