UBCO students organizing formal fundraiser for Syrian relief

KELOWNA – The UBCO Student Union is organizing a formal dinner and series of performances to raise money for Syrians next week.

Fatima Zahra Sentissi, 22, is a fourth year management student originally from Morocco. She and the rest of the student union on campus decided to help their VP Romey Jaswal, who collects medical supplies to send to Syria.

According to the fundraiser Facebook page, an estimated 25% of casualties in Syria are due simply to a lack of basic medical supplies. That number could be as high as 75 per cent since civil war broke out in 2011.

This all-ages formal fundraiser includes a buffet dinner and performances by UBCO students. It takes place at the Laurel Packinghouse March 10 from 6 to 10 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for students, $15 for non-students with 100 per cent of money collected going to medical supplies. 

“I’m trying not to set a goal,” Sentissi says. “No matter what we get helps. All the money goes to Syria and you can always donate more if you want to when you get there.”

Tickets can be purchased on campus or through their Facebook page.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.