Officials holding a cheque of one million, donated by Qatar Cancer Society, during the fund-raising campaign to support Syrians in the besieged city of Aleppo, at Darb El Saai, yesterday. Pic: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula

By Sidi Mohamed / The Peninsula

UPDATE: Contributions in the campaign #Support_Aleppo at Darb Al-Saai reached QR 245,016,751 and it is still going on.

This year’s National Day was marked with a massive fund-raising campaign at Darb El Saai which raised more than QR238m in less than six hours to support the Syrians in the besieged city of Aleppo.

The drive, which was originally scheduled until 10pm continued until late night due to huge public response. Thousands of individuals and families joined the campaign which started officially at 7pm, after raising the Qatari flag. The event was held by the National Day organising committee, in collaboration with five leading Qatari charities.

The anchors coordinated the drive from a raised platform, where cash donations were received from companies and individuals. Over 100 boxes were also installed at the venue to receive cash donations, besides special boxes for donations in kind.

Jassim and Hamad bin Jassim Charitable Foundation (HBJ Foundation) donated QR50m and the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs donated QR10m, among the biggest amounts received in the campaign.

Among the companies which donated QR5m were Qatar Development Bank, Ooredoo and Barwa Real State company.

A number of individuals donated one to three million Qatari riyals.

A number of private and state-backed companies and institutions supported the campaign with huge donations, including Qatar Cancer Society, Abdullah Abdulghani & Bros Co, Qatar Society for Rehabilitation of people with disabilities, Ahli Bank and Qatar Insurance company.

The event attracted a huge crowd, as Darb El Saai saw a massive turnout of visitors since morning yesterday, being the National Day. The charity boxes started receiving donations even before the campaign officially kicked off at 7pm. The three-hour event was telecast live on Qatar TV and Rayyan TV. Organisers dedicated one gate for donations in kind, which received more contributions, especially from women who donated watches, gold and many other precious items.

Eight vehicles and ten motorcycles - some brand new and others used ones - were seen displayed for sale at the venue a few hours before the official campaign started.

Prices of the vehicles and motorcycles ranged from QR12,000 to QR100,000. They belonged to companies and individuals.

Representatives of some participating charities said that they started receiving donations since 8am from people, including citizens and expatriates.

“A woman donated her wedding ornament. She was sobbing when she said this was the most expensive thing she owned,” said an organiser.

Some people who didn’t want to come inside Darb El Saai gave their contributions from outside the gates. The organisers arranged special volunteers to collect their donations.

The event also saw the participation of ministers, top dignitaries and government officials.

“This is a special day for the people in Qatar as the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani directed to cancel all the National Day celebrations in solidarity with our brothers in Aleppo,” said an official addressing the gathering.

“Many Qatari companies and tribes have replaced their celebrations with their participation in this noble cause,” he added.

A number of activities were held at the venue to encourage people to donate.

Five Qatari charities participated in the campaign — Qatar Charity, Eid Charity, Qatar Red Crescent Society, Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF) and Afif Charity.