Charity concert raises US $152,277 for refugees

A charity concert in Geneva has raised 200,000 Swiss francs (US $152,277) to educate young refugees in two camps in Tanzania and Sierra Leone, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees reported on Monday. The event was in commemoration of World Refugee Day, observed on 20 June. Some 500 guests attended the classical music concert, including guest of honor and goodwill ambassador Adel Imam of Egypt. UNHCR said 80,000 francs of the money raised on Friday came from ticket sales and the rest was a donation by the Swiss government. The money for Camp Mtabila, in Kasulu, Tanzania, will go towards school equipment. Later this year Mtabila is to be partnered with a school in Switzerland via the Internet. Mtabila is a camp for Burundian refugees where 50 percent of the children are less than 18 years old, UNHCR Tanzania said. It added that 95 percent of the children attended primary school, although there was a drop out problem mostly among the girls.