UK charity concert raises $5 million for Syria relief

A charity concert organized in 12 cities across the UK and Ireland has raised about $5 million (3.1 million UK pounds) to support the relief efforts in Syria.

Sounds of Light 2013, organized by British international development and relief charity Human Appeal, concluded its tour with a grand finale in London on Sunday.

The concerts took place between Oct. 23 and Nov. 3 and included charity dinners in Glasgow, Sheffield, Leicester and Bolton, with lively and entertaining evenings.

Sounds of Light 2013 was headlined by multi-platinum, award-winning artist Maher Zain, singer-songwriter Raef and Harris J.

Zain, a Muslim Swedish R&B singer, songwriter and music producer of Lebanese origin performed in the final concert in London.

CEO Human Appeal Othman Moqbel the money raised in the event will go to five specified projects.

“The first project is to build a camp for the displaced inside Syria on the border with Turkey. The second project will support three schools because of the educational problem now. The third project is related to healthcare and helping fight diseases. The fourth project concerns distributing bread flour and the the fifth project concerns distributing milk for children,” Moqbel told Al Arabiya News.

He also posted a statement on www.soundsoflight.org saying that since the 2012 concert, the charity has been working inside Syria.

“We’ve fed over 10 million people – providing essential flour and food packs, established schools and hospitals inside Syria. We’ve delivered live-saving medical aid and set up durable solid shelter for the internally displaced people and refugees.”
The UK had seen weekly activities supporting the Syrian people since the beginning of the crisis over two years ago.