Berkhamsted Ukulele Random Players dedicate festival to raising funds for earthquake victims

Berkhamsted Ukulele Random Players have dedicated their annual festival to raising funds for earthquake victims.

It is a month since the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria - with officials putting the number of deaths in Turkey alone at 45,968. In Syria, more than 6,000 are known to have lost their lives.

Those who survived face an uncertain future. One of their most serious problems is finding somewhere safe to live. At least 1.5 million people are now homeless, and it's unclear how long it will take to find them proper shelter.

Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) and Syrian Arab Red Crescent emergency responders have been working tirelessly since day one to help people affected by the earthquakes, providing first aid and essentials like food, water, blankets and shelter. Their teams were already rooted in the local communities, and are providing unique access to the hardest hit areas.

The Turkish disaster agency Afad, meanwhile, says almost two million people have now left the quake zone.

Well right here in Berkhamsted a local group is doing its bit to try and help the desperate cause.

BURP have been playing together since 2010 and hold an annual charity festival – Ukes for Unicef – which started in 2011.

That continued until the final (virtual) festival in 2021 and raised over £35,000 for UNICEF UK to support them in their worldwide work for children's rights and wellbeing.

In 2022 BURP held the first U4U Big Busks and raised over £7,700 for the Ukraine Appeal.

This year, in light of the recent catastrophic events in Turkey and Syria, Ukes for UNICEF's Big Busks will be in aid of their earthquake appeal.BURP will be joined by Katie's Jumping Fleas, UkeRythmics, Ver Players, ReVerbs, Pluckwits and Ol' Packers in St Peters Street St Albans on Saturday 11th March 2023 from 10am to 4pm.On Saturday 8th April they will be in Berkhamsted High Street from 10am until 2pm.

Full details of the busk, and how to donate and contact the group can be found on the website.

A spokesman said: “Please come along support this great cause, bring your ukulele if you have one.”