Najia Siddiqui was expecting hundreds of dollars worth of toys to be delivered to her Edmonton home on Wednesday. But when she found the boxes on her front step, two of the three were cut open with nothing inside.
“I was very disappointed, sad, mad, because I knew that those packages — the stuff that was in there — was worth at least $400,” Siddiqui said. “I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, what am I going to do now?”
Playdough, dolls, cars and race tracks were inside the boxes ordered from Amazon when they were stolen off her front steps in the Blue Quill neighbourhood.
“I’m expecting two to three more packages and I’m worried about those, too,” she said.
Najia Siddiqui, a teaching assistant, helps kindergarten students at Al Mustafa Academy write out the alphabet. (Travis McEwan/CBC)
The toys were bought with money donated to Al Mustafa Academy, a private Islamic school. Siddiqui raised $1,300 on GoFundMe to buy gifts to be given as academic awards for kindergarten to Grade 5 students.
On Monday, kindergarten students worked on the alphabet as they were led by Siddiqui. She says they haven’t forgotten about the awards.
“For them to have something that’s different and something new, and recognition that they’ve done so much — that to me is really important,” said Ellen Harrison, the academy’s principal.
“A lot of them come from war-torn areas. A lot of them come from backgrounds that are not the nicest. We try to give them as much love as we can here. Having something nice for them to take with them is our main goal.”
Kindergarten students at Al Mustafa School volunteer to help with a lesson. (Travis McEwan/CBC)
Siddiqui says she contacted Amazon to see if there’s anything the company can do about the missing contents, but has yet to hear back.