Cosmic Mother

What if I told you that I am a genie and I have the powers to grant you not just three wishes, but – wait for it – all your wishes? Would you believe me?

You probably didn’t meet a female genie before, but we do exist. We just hide. I see you have a healthy skepticism. Good on you! What’s the catch, you ask? Do not worry, you don’t have to release me from my bottle. I am with my bottle. It’s home after all.

Granting wishes is what I was born to do. I started my nonprofit, Amna Sanctuary, a year ago so I could do just that – grant wishes. I didn’t have start-up money. Why? It’s a long story.

I always thought I was going to die young, so I didn’t believe in savings. How then, did I start a non-profit without money? I’ll start from the beginning.

It was 2020, the outbreak of the pandemic. All the social services, like welfare and food stamps, stopped seeing clients in person and went online. I found that refugees in my local area were left alone at home without the means to access these services. They had the need to be connected, so I got to work and started to grant wishes. Amna Sanctuary found and provided them with laptops and desktop computers.

How did I get them without money? I see you are still stuck with these human notions. I told you, I am a female genie. I ask and things appear. That’s how this works. Twenty-two laptops and five computers appeared. Another nonprofit asked me to partner with them and offered me a digital literacy course. Trainers manifested themselves and the whole initiative was a great success.

I found Syrian refugees who couldn’t join the workforce. Why? Well, they didn’t speak English. These wonderful women had great sewing skills. I asked for sewing machines and they appeared – five of them – and these women started their businesses.

As I visited the refugees in their homes, I noticed the children had no toys. One of the mothers said, “we buy diapers, not toys.” I put the request out into the universe and 220 toys were given to me from people who hardly knew me. Amna Sanctuary gave out toys to children and some of them had never had toys. We didn’t know anything about the children. These children don’t write their wishes to Santa. I chose a toy for each child and every time the child mentioned that he or she had seen this toy with a classmate, a neighbor, or on TV. One boy wished for a basketball ball because his family moved to an apartment across from a basketball court. Guess what I chose for him? You guessed it, a basketball.

When we delivered the toys, I noticed some of the kids were not clean. Initially, I thought, well, these must be the naughty ones. One of the mothers explained, “We aren’t allowed to buy soap, shampoo and laundry detergents on food stamps. I have to rotate who of the kids takes a shower.” I replied, “Not on my watch!”

I asked and Dr. Bronner’s company sponsored a monthly hygiene supply. The program I called “Green Basket” was born and these families started to receive monthly hygiene supplies delivered by yours truly, the female genie.

The crisis in Afghanistan started and one of my refugees reached out to me. Her relatives and other families had just arrived with only the clothes on their backs. She told me that they were sleeping on the floor. I asked and three news channels reached out to me. I put the ask on TV and people from far and wide responded. Within one week, all these families had food, hygiene supplies, clothes, couches, and mattresses. Amna Sanctuary received in-kind donations estimated at over $5,000 and cash donations of $3,100.

That’s how a typical day in my life goes. A dark, short, and overweight woman goes around and grants wishes to those who deserve it. Do I love it? Well, of course life is good when you have the powers to grant wishes.

So, go ahead, ask: What do you wish for?