A new Shoreditch mural that was created in the hopes of helping Israel-Palestine children receive gifts has been defaced this morning.
Circle of Toys announced last week they were behind the Israel-Palestine peace mural and revealed plans to send toys to war-torn children through their circular gift-giving initiative.
The platform, which has already helped thousands of gift-givers send pre-loved toys to Ukrainian children suffering due to conflict, shared secret posters and murals across London showing Israeli and Palestinian children hugging with the #Toys4Peace, along with the caption ‘allchildrenareinnocent.com’.
Users on social media had already highlighted the potential for people to take concern or offence at the mural, with one user commenting “Can we take bets on which flag is getting vandalised first?”
However, The Circle of Toys initiative seeks to help all children who are suffering from war-torn conflict, and since launching has already seen requests come through from Israel and the West Bank.
One father in Palestine requesting a gift for his 2-year-old son, said, “My children have been crying to get a toy, but due to the war and the harsh economic conditions, I have not been able to make them happy. I hope to put a smile on our children’s faces.”
Through the use of technology, gift-givers can sign up and register as a ‘sender’ in seconds, before selecting who to gift from a list of families who have signed up, so they can match their donation correctly.
Once approved, gift-givers receive the family’s mailing address to send their toy directly through the Circle of Toys’ donation gifting scheme. The platform has an in-built translator to aid communication between givers and seekers, allowing people to share messages of goodwill and generosity.
As well as the Shoreditch mural, others have been popping up across the globe, including Morocco, Spain and France – with many more to come, to unite all countries to put a smile on a child’s face.
Arthur Corvin-Powells, founder of Circle of Toys, says, “As we watch the news and learn more about the conflicts going on around the world, we see so many individuals taking sides, but the side we really should be on is the side of the truly innocent: the children and the lives lost through reasons beyond their control.
“The purpose of our murals is to share this message with as many people as possible and to provide them with the means to help out, as sometimes on social media you see these issues but are rarely given a way to help.
“We built Circle Of Toys to provide children in need all around the world some normalcy — a childhood full of play, love, and warmth, no matter the circumstances. Just think, if every child in a difficult situation grew up knowing that someone out there cared enough to send them a toy, couldn’t that make the world a little better?
“But for that to happen, we need to find as many gift-givers to ensure every child can feel that love.
We have enough toys in the world to make this happen, yet most end up being thrown away. But, one child’s outgrown toy is another’s treasure and a symbol of peace and pure joy.”
