Bella Hadid and Pedro Pascal teamed up with Sudanese Canadian artist Mustafa over the weekend to host an Artists for Aid benefit concert in LA.
The event, which featured performances by Chappell Roan, Shawn Mendes, Lucy Dacus, Noor Hindi, Daniel Caesar and many more, raised over $5.5 million for two charities – the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund which is supporting injured kids in Gaza and their transfer to the U.S. for medical assistance, as well as the Sudanese American Physicians Association which provides medical aid, physician training and boosts access to care in Sudan.
Before his set, Shawn Mendes led a powerful moment on stage for the kids of Sudan and Palestine: “May you be free from fear, may you be free from suffering, may you be safe. May you be free from fear, may you be free from suffering, may you feel peace, may you feel joy, may you feel love.”
Speaking about the concert on Instagram, Bella said she was moved by the number of people who chose to show their support: “When I looked around the room, what I saw was love in action. People who chose to show up, not just for music, not just for community, but for humanity. That is the power of collective action. That is what happens when compassion turns into commitment. This is deeply moving to me and why Pedro and I were so honoured to be there.”
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She continued, “One cause that is deeply personal to me, is the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF). Children make up over half of Gaza’s population. PCRF has done the heroic task of supplying monthly support to at least 6,000 orphaned children, delivering 21 million litres of clean water to their families, evacuating hundreds of children out of Gaza, among other miracles. Some of these evacuated children were there with us. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Let’s keep raising our voices to make sure these families know we stand with them.”
Bella also highlighted the crisis in Sudan: “With over 12 million Sudanese people displaced, and over 25 million facing food insecurity, Sudan has been named the largest humanitarian crisis in the world by several UN agencies
including the world food program.”
The concert was the third of its kind following successful sold-out events in both New Jersey and London last year, both organised by Mustafa too.
Swipe for some pics from the event below:
(Feature Image Credit: Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
