A Leicester fundraising dinner has raised over £12,000 to help support those affected by floods in Pakistan.
The three-course charity dinner, took place on Friday evening (October 21), at the city’s Taiba Lounge.
Hundreds of people took the time to attend, including Leicester’s Lord Mayor George Cole, and Rob Nixon, Temporary Chief Constable for Leicestershire Police.
During a speech on the night, Mr Nixon took the time to reflect on the scale of the devastation which has taken place in Pakistan, as a result of recent flooding.
“Thousands of people have lost their lives, millions of people have lost their homes, the infrastructure’s been destroyed – almost 50 percent of the country is underwater and one in seven people in Pakistan have been affected,” he said of the disaster.
“This is not going to take months or years, this is going to take decades, for people to rebuild that country, to rebuild those families and the lives, and the devastation will go on.”
As well as highlighting the devastation currently being experiences in Pakistan, T/CC Nixon also took the time to highlight the efforts of Councillor Ruma Ali, who organised Friday’s fundraising dinner.
“What today is, is a very small event that has been brilliantly pulled together. It’s just a very small token of kindness in a world of conflict and challenge, and I’m delighted and proud to be here,” he said.
“Everything we can do do support that one Leicester – the respect, the culture, the diversity – both locally and globally has got to be a good thing.”
As well as enjoying a delicious meal on the night, guests were also treated to entertainment, which consisted of Arabic poetry reading and the singing of Islamic songs.
“I put my heart and soul into organising this event, and am so grateful to everyone who supported and attended,” Cllr Ali told the Leicester Times.
“Over 30 million people have been affected by the flooding in Pakistan and I just thought that we needed to do our bit here in Leicester,” she said of her reasons for organising.
“I know it was only a relatively small event, but I’m so proud of the generosity of the people here in our city.
“The fundraising part of the evening lasted just half an hour and in that time we raised over £12,000, which is just amazing.
“It’s just about being kind and doing what we can. I want to thank everyone who supported the event, from the bottom of my heart,” she added.
People can donate to the Islamic Relief Fund, by visiting: https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/?utm_source=cfv&utm_medium=save-lives
