KARACHI: On a dark, humid night a crowd of 700-800 cheered, sang and danced to their favourite tunes, at the Indus Vally School of Art and Architecture on October 17. Sound of Hope – a concert comprising of various artists – was a resounding success, with 100 per cent of the proceeds being donated to the flood victims.

The concert featured musicians like Gumby, Ali Azmat, Noori, Mauj, Faraz Anwer, DJ Faisal Baig and stand-up comedian, Sami Shah.

The brainchild of Gumby who wanted to put something together to raise funds for the flood victims, the concert took only two to three weeks to put together. However, due to the situation in the city, the concert was postponed by a month. Kudos must be given to all artistes who cooperated and put up a show that left everyone in great spirits and definitely, wanting more!

The concert was also the first large event of its kind that did not include any sponsors – quite a feat for an event on this scale. The IVS student council also managed to raise funds through multiple ways; all profits from the sales at the food stalls such as Nandos were also put towards the cause.

Aptly titled Sound of Hope, the organisers and participants wanted to send out this message to everyone: Amidst all the chaos and turbulence in the country, there is still hope for us. As the president of the IVS student council Dabeer Hemani said: “That we were able to put this all together in a span of a few weeks without any sponsors, shows that people are willing to work together, that they are eager to help – shows there is still hope.”