00:04Crowds of people gathered outside for the opening of a brand new free shop.
00:09Food, books, clothes and toys.
00:12Everything in the store has been donated by multiple businesses or even members in Ashford.
00:18And it was set up by Carolina, a single mother of four who wanted to thank her community for all
00:23the support they've given her.
00:24Nobody should travel alone. Nobody should feel lonely.
00:29So Ashford Free Shop is about showing the love, the compassion, the kindness that we still have for one another.
00:36In a world where there's so much negativity, there's still good people.
00:40There's still kind people that care about people.
00:44This has to work in Ashford because people need it.
00:47People need to know that they don't have to suffer alone.
00:50Opening for the first time in Ashford, this centre marks the expansion of Maya's Free Shop in Herne Bay.
00:58And there are plans to expand this even further, even in Birmingham and in Coventry.
01:02But what is a free shop?
01:04Well, Finder Maya says it's a shop with no till. Everything is free.
01:08All these clothes have been donated by the local community or to help the community here in Ashford.
01:13And some things have even been brought over from Herne Bay.
01:16So according to Maya, a donation is a donation and no matter where it's from, it needs to go and
01:21help someone.
01:22I wanted people to know that not only we can run the free shops, but we can help them to
01:27open their free shops in their town serving their community.
01:30Poverty doesn't wait. Cost of living doesn't wait. So what we do? We just keep going.
01:36Free shop is a movement. It's a green plant. Pre-recycling centre. It's a bridge between waste and people in
01:46need.
01:47More free shops we open, more people in need we will help and more waste we will save.
01:55And the community gives back to the store too, in more ways than one.
02:00Because I've been homeless, I was homeless for a while. I've sofa surfed. I've been on the streets.
02:08I've witnessed people passing away through ammonia, things like that and people being cold.
02:14So when I heard something about this, it was kind of inevitable to be there and to put a face
02:22and help out as much as I can because I needed it when I was homeless.
02:25At a time when many are struggling, Ashford's food shop shows how compassion, dignity and community spirit can make all
02:33the difference.
02:34Leila Mahamud for KMTV in Ashford.
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