Seven-year-old Riyah from Maple Ridge raises $4,500 for charities

For the past three years seven-year-old Riyah Biln from Maple Ridge has been selling blueberries or frozen food packages from her family’s local farm, Silver Valley Farms, and donating the proceeds to charities.

Biln’s initiatives started from a simple World Vision commercial she saw when she was five-years-old. It made her realize not all kids have access to education and daily meals she does.

“I would like to help kids,” Biln told Vancouver Desi at her blueberry stand in Maple Ridge at 232nd St. and 128 Ave., near the Petro Canada station owned by her dad.

“I like to go to school,” she said. “I’d just like everyone to go to school, it’s fun going to school and I want them to have some fun too.”

Biln, her four-year-old sister, Jasmin and their mother, Aman Biln, have been out selling the fresh fruit every day since the beginning of the month.

“Constantly from (July 5) we’re doing it for a few hours a day – up to five hours,” said Aman, who said she couldn’t be more proud of her daughter.

Biln hopes to raise $1,000 to donate to World Vision by Sunday — before she, her mother and Jasmin head to India to visit family.

Last year, Biln raised $2,000 over two months, with half of it going towards the Canadian Feed the Children program and the other half towards World Vision’s West African Food Crisis.