Prince, princess of Wales visit London’s Hayes Muslim Centre after it breaks fundraising record UK Disasters Emergency Committee announces £121m raised for Syria, Turkiye so far LONDON: William and Catherine, the prince and princess of Wales, praised the “strength” of a Muslim community in London after it raised record funds to aid victims of the earthquakes that struck Turkiye and Syria last month. The royals, with the princess wearing a headscarf, visited the Hayes Muslim Centre to thank volunteers on the same day that the UK Disasters Emergency Committee announced that the nationwide appeal to raise funds for people affected by the disaster had reached £121 million ($144.37 million). Zia Rehman, the center’s chief fundraiser, told The Times: “For this, we broke the record. Within two hours we were able to raise £18,000. Normally it is anything between £10,000 and £12,000. “But this time the community came forward amazingly. Altogether we have raised £30,000 for Turkey and Syria. “They appreciated our work, and William said he would like to recruit us for (future) fundraising.” Rehman told the royals: “We have a mixed community. When we fundraise, it is not only for the Muslims. When we have a cause, the community will just come forward.” The princess replied: “It shows the strength of the community when you are coming together and supporting each other.” Malen Alhousseiny, a response manager with Age International, told the royals that people in the area hit by the earthquakes “have lost their lives, their homes, their loved ones, their pension as well.” William said: “I bet it’s quite a large area, as well as all the other barriers you have to compete with. Two countries on the border, it’s not easy.” Salah Aboulgasem, an aid worker with Islamic Relief who traveled to the area after the disaster, told the pair a story about a 9-year-old girl who was rescued from a collapsed building in Syria, but who “died in the ambulance” because the roads in the area were so badly disrupted. Rescue workers, he added, regularly dug through the rubble and “were hearing voices underneath and hammering the concrete. You’re working, and you know you are not going to achieve anything, but you continue to do so.” The royals also met two schoolgirls — Dila Haya, 14, and Lina Alkutubi, 15 — who between them made 700 symbolic paper cranes as part of their school’s fundraiser for the earthquake victims, which reached £10,000.