Beltsville Girl's Gift to 'Katrina Kids'

Raising Money for Others, One Paper Fan at a Time

Kamilah Bryant, 7, decided last year that she would raise money for children affected by Hurricane Katrina by creating and selling fans. (Photos By Susan Biddle -- The Washington Post)

Seven-year-old Kamilah Bryant just wanted to help children devastated by Hurricane Katrina get their stuff back.

Last year, the Beltsville girl sat down with some colorful paper, crayons and markers and began making hundreds of accordion-style fans. Over the next several months, she sold them for $1 each at church and in the lobby of the Forestville apartment complex where her great-grandmother lived.

Her ingenuity resulted in a $1,000 donation to a Washington-based nonprofit group called KaBoom, which used the money in October to purchase a new slide for a playground that the group built to bring smiles back to the faces of children in a New Orleans neighborhood.

"A child like Kamilah gives you hope for the future," said Sarah Pinsky, director of KaBoom's Operation Playground, a two-year initiative to build 100 playgrounds in Gulf Coast communities affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. "She is not just caring about her own environment, but children across the country."

KaBoom held a reception this month to recognize Kamilah for her contribution.

Her creative journey started in June 2006 when Kamilah, then 5, was visiting her great-grandmother, Doris Marie Best Johnson, known by many as Mama Doris. She told Kamilah about the devastation Katrina had inflicted on New Orleans, particularly the city's children.

"She said that they had no food, no playgrounds, no houses. Most of them lost their parents, they didn't have books, any furniture anymore," Kamilah said.

The child told her great-grandmother she wanted to help the "Katrina kids."

Earlier that day, Kamilah had made a fan by folding a piece of colored paper like an accordion and taping it at the bottom. She figured she could use her creativity to make more fans and sell them.

Kamilah, who attends Woodstream Christian Academy in Mitchellville, told Mama Doris she would sell the fans for $5 apiece. But the wise great-grandmother helped her settle on a more reasonable price: $1.

With her great-grandmother's help, Kamilah set up shop in the lobby of Oak Crest Towers in Forrestville and at Washington Christian Center, where they attended church. At each location, Kamilah set up a cardboard poster that read: "Kamilah's Katrina Fan Fund for Children Affected by Hurricane Katrina." On the board were fans with designs, paintings and words.

Her sales pitch was simple: "Excuse me, would you like to buy a Katrina kids fan for $1?"