Local and international charities to benefit from Let's Sing Gospel

Girls receiving training at the Waakisa supported centre in Uganda.

The concerts will take place in Portstewart Baptist Church on Saturday, January 27 and The Diamond Hall at The University of Ulster Coleraine on Saturday, February 3.

The popular concerts will raise funds for CHEERS Youth Centre Ballymoney, SyriAid a charity working with Syrian refugees and Waakisa Uganda.

The three charities wish to express their appreciation for the hard work that the singers and musicians have put

Refugees at the camp in Greece who are supported by SyriAid.

into raising much needed funds for their projects.

The work of CHEERS has been ongoing in Ballymoney town centre for the past 25 years offering a safe place for young people to socialise with their friends and the opportunity to participate in projects that widen their

perspective on life as well as improving their CV and qualifications and attitude towards the community where they live.

SyriAid is a charity working with refugees in camps in Greece. A volunteer at a refugee camp tells the heart breaking story of witnessing refugees coming ashore after a terrifying sea journey to escape war in their own country.

“Late tonight, we witnessed a boat come ashore with 30 refugees on board, including a four month old baby. They had spent hours out on the sea, in the dark, fearing for their safety. It was heartbreaking to see them step ashore, children bewildered and frightened, mothers exhausted.

“Teams of volunteers were ready with blankets, water, medical supervision, and the families were loaded into jeeps and driven to a small camp for the night.”

Waakisa is a charity working with young women in Uganda who, as the result of abuse, find themselves pregnant and often abandoned by their families.

Many are forced to seek refuge in the forests where the baby may be born and abandoned. Waakisa provides a safe place where the girls can stay until the baby is born and while there can learn skills which will be useful to help them become independent when they leave.

Tickets for these concerts are available from RH Gault’s, Church Street, Ballymoney, Causeway School of Music and The Faith Mission Bookshop in Railway Road Coleraine.