Kindhearted Qatari residents loosened their purse strings to help evacuate and rehabilitate displaced Syrians from the besieged city of Aleppo during a special event at the Darb El Saai in Doha yesterday.

The massive fund-raising event, which raised more than QR245m in less than six hours, was supposed to run until 10pm but was extended late into the night following huge demand, reported The Peninsula.

HH The Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani cancelled this year’s Qatar National Day celebrations and asked people to focus more on the Aleppo effort.

The residents opened their ears and hearts and soon, there was a deluge of promises for help in cash and kind. Over 100 donation boxes (for cash and kind) were placed all over the facility.

Jassim and Hamad bin Jassim Charitable Foundation (HBJ Foundation) donated QR50m while the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs donated QR10m. Those were among the biggest donations received yesterday.

Qatar Development Bank, Ooredoo and Barwa Real State company all donated QR5m each. Several individuals gave away QR1m to QR3m each.

Several other public and private companies donated to the effort. Many women donated watches, jewelry and other expensive items for the cause. Several brand new and used vehicles were also donated and kept up for sale, with the proceeds going to charity.

Several Qatari companies and families cancelled their celebration plans and donated the money earmarked for it for the Aleppo cause. There were several activities at the venue dedicated to encourage people to donate.

Five leading Qatari charities — Qatar Charity, Eid Charity, Qatar Red Crescent Society, Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF) and Afif Charity — joined hands for the event at Darb El Saai.