Charity Week started 20 years ago with a shoebox at St George’s University London, and alhamdulillah we are still fundraising for a week every year to inspire unity across the ummah. However, from the very start CW2023, it was clear that we needed to unite more than ever.
February brought one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in a century: devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria. You responded; you came together in 9 countries, and a record 668 institutions participated.
The calls for unity grew even stronger as disaster struck Morocco, and then Libya within days. Within weeks, an earthquake claimed thousands of lives in Afghanistan. Soon after, an unbearable injustice began unfolding in Palestine, one that sadly continues to this day. Worst of all, nature takes no blame here.
Our teams in Canada, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, Pakistan, Qatar, South Africa, the UK, and the US took action. We pledged £1,000,000 of our fundraising to Palestine and surpassed it because you all answered the call. You also raised significant amounts for wider emergency relief and long-term projects. You all broke records with your efforts. You showed the world that Unity is Natural.