Omani woman collects over 10,000 bottle tops for charity

Pure dedication, love for charity, and a drive to do good are what have made Najah Al Balushi the woman she is today. Al Balushi has managed to collect more than 10,000 bottle tops for a charity that collects plastic material.

The Omani woman, whose journey took four years, will send these bottle tops to the charity group to be sold in exchange for money, which will then be used to purchase wheelchairs and other equipment for the disabled, as well as help those in need. Al Balushi has always been one to help the needy. She has done quite a lot of work to give back to the community in various ways. But a WhatsApp text urging people to offer a helping hand in collecting such items for charitable purposes gave a new direction to her passion. She took the call and began her mission.

The journey that started as a way to help a disabled kid, ended up in being her true calling in life. For her, charity can best be sustained if there is joy in it and she is filled with joy every time she’s able to offer something to a person in need. Al Balushi emptied and gave away a few items from her humble home to make space for her new charity.

She dedicated a corner in her house and placed a massive box there, to be filled with bottle tops on a daily basis. She set an example for her four children, who became part of her initiative.

“My youngest daughter is my biggest motivation. She caught on the habit of collecting these caps when she was one year old. To her, a cap is a sort of golden collectible,” she said, adding, “You can see it in her eyes that she’s happy helping her mother. It’s her charity.”

After hunting for places to give her tonnes of bottle tops, she found a charity group in Bousher, which accepted them. Gathering caps has made Al Balushi feel tremendously helpful towards her community.

Till this day, she continues to collect caps whenever opportunities arise, at workplaces, weddings, funerals, and everything in between.

“Charity is a beautiful thing. You feel good as a human being when you offer help to others,” she said.

Now, her bucket list includes forming a group and kicking off a bigger initiative that will accommodate many people who share the same passion of helping, even by offering something as simple as a cap for sale. In the end, charity is charity, regardless of how it is delivered.