10,000 TOYS ARE HEADING TO SYRIA

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Sharen Ravat, centre, at St Philip's Church with the Rev Sonya Brown and Suleman nagdi and some of the toys

10,000 toys are heading to Syria

by Fiona Dryden

Generous folk have donated more than 10,000 toys for children devastated by the ongoing conflict in Syria.

Sharen Ravat, a multi-faith chaplaincy co-ordinator at Leicester College, was so deeply affected by the plight of children in Syria she decided to launch the initiative to help bring some joy to families, many of which have lost members.

According to the United Nations, the conflict has led to the worst humanitarian crisis since Rwanda, more than two decades ago.

The drop-in session held at St Philip's Church, in Leicester, on Sunday collected more than 10,000 toys – enough to fill seven van loads.

Sharen said: "The toys have been given to the charity Hand in Hand for Syria, which will take them to children in hospitals and refugee camps in Syria.

"I pay tribute to the wonderfully generous people, including many children, who donated toys for this vital cause.

"What was particularly heart-warming was that so many of Leicestershire's different faith communities came together.

"Collectively, they demonstrated their shared values of compassion and love for children they will never know. I hope that these toys will bring a smile to their faces."

The Federation of Muslim Organisations was one of the many faith organisations supporting the campaign.

Spokesman Suleman Nagdi said: "We were privileged to be part of this superb charity effort, which focused on children. I pay tribute to Sharen Ravat, who single-handedly had the vision to arrange this appeal." 

Fadi Al-Dairi, from Hand in Hand for Syria, said: "The people of Leicestershire will make a lot of children smile."

Hand in Hand works in partnership with projects overseas that have been established by members of the local community.

FAITHS COME TOGETHER FOR SYRIA APPEAL

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Faiths come together for Syria appeal

A toy collection is being held for children affected by the conflict in Syria.

Sharen Ravat, chaplaincy service manager at Leicester College, will be holding a drop-in session for members of the public to hand over unwanted or unused toys on Sunday, August 4, from 1pm to 5pm at St Philip's Church in Evington Road, Leicester.

Many different faith communities have already pledged support, including Leicester Islamic Centre, Leicester Cathedral, Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara and the Sikh Cultural and Welfare Society.

The toys will be given to the UK charity Hand in Hand for Syria, which will then distribute them at hospitals in the war-torn country.

Sharen said: "I decided to organise the campaign after being touched by the plight of children in Syria, many of whom have lost their loved ones, been injured, made homeless or just lost hope.

"The UN has already said that the Syrian refugee crisis is the worst since Rwanda with an average of 6,000 people fleeing every day.

"I am hoping that by offering toys to children, it puts an immediate smile on their faces."

For more information, call Sharen on 07919 290 313.

CITY'S SYRIAN FAMILIES IN BID TO HELP OUT REFUGEES

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

City's Syrian families in bid to help out refugees

Syrian families living in Leicester are helping to raise thousands of pounds for refugees fleeing the Assad regime.

The small community in the city is supporting the charity Hand in Hand for Syria, which is sending much-needed medical and food supplies to refugees in camps in Lebanon and Turkey.

Three of the four charity trustees live in Leicester and they are holding a fund-raising meal on Sunday at the University of Leicester.

The country has been rocked by violence since the uprising against President Bashar Assad started one year ago.

The UN says more than 8,000 people have been killed, many of them unarmed protesters.

Charity trustee Fadi Al-Dairi said: "We all have relatives who live in Syria or who have fled their homes and are living in refugee camps.

"I have family who have fled Homs so I have to be very careful what I say. But, they are in desperate need of help. They need medical equipment, medicines and first aid materials, food and equipment to keep them warm."

He said: "We are strictly humanitarian and want to protect and save life."

The charity was formed last year and has so far raised nearly £70,000.

It has also managed to smuggle food and medical equipment into Syria.

He added: "We desperately need money and the local community has been very generous.

"But fund-raising is not the principle aim of the event. We want to raise the plight of the refugees and the civilians suffering in Syria."

One of the charity's supporters, a doctor from Leicester, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, said: "There are about 10 families from Syria in the Leicester area and they have been active in supporting our humanitarian efforts.

"We have been helped by the wider community including people from Libya, because they know what we are going through. We have been successful in getting essential life-saving supplies through. But we need to do more.

"We hope the meal will encourage more people from the wider community to contact us and help us in our work."

The event on Sunday will be addressed by one of the charity's trustees, Omar Abdul Gubbar, who is an orthopaedic consultant for the University of Leicester Hospitals Trust.

It will be held at the O2 Academy, in University Road, on the University of Leicester campus, beginning at 2pm.

Entry, which includes the price of the meal, costs £15 for adults and £10 for children.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit: www.handinhandforsyria.org