A Brent based charity held a sell out concert in aid of children in Gaza raising more than £2,100.

Brent Friends of Palestine (BFP) held the concert in Charing Cross in aid of the Fridays of Joy project, run by the Palestine Trauma Centre (PTC)

Performers at the event included singer-songwriters Frankie Armstrong, Janet Russell and Leon Rosselson, and professional violinist Simon Hewitt Jones.

Dr Mohamad Altawil, director of Palestine Trauma Centre (PTC) was present and is delighted at the amount raised.

The Fridays of Joy project, which has playworkers, clowns and therapists, goes into schools, communities and refugee camps to give children an experience of fun which costs approximately £12,000 a year to fund.

Andrew Papworth, of BFP, said: “We raised more than £2,100 which was quite a lot more than we expected, people were very generous. The good news is, it’s all going to Gaza’s Fridays of Joy project.

“The situation in Gaza remains desperate, homes and schools have not been rebuilt because of the blockade on Gaza, water is contaminated and food is scarce. Families and children can be very despondent, their mental health is often damaged so this work and the therapeutic work of the Palestine Trauma Centre helps people cope.”

He added: “Gaza is not the only awful situation in the world. Obviously people’s plight in Syria is appalling, in the Yemen too and in many other places.

“It was the imaginative and positive work of the Palestine Trauma Centre that inspired us to help.”