“It’s one of the biggest disasters in my lifetime,” said Nudrat Mansoor with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Association. “I was not here to see World War II, but it’s the biggest displacement after that– we want to help as many human beings as possible.”

Mansoor is part of a local group of Muslim women who organized a sold out fundraiser Saturday night at the Baitul Hadi Mosque. The money raised will go toward Humanity First, an organization that privately sponsors refugees and resettles them in Canada. Over 90 per cent of the donated money will go directly towards the cause.

“We thought this was an opportunity to show the spirit of Islam, to show our spirit of helping each other,” Mansoor added.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Association promoted the women’s only event for just two weeks and it sold out immediately.

“We wanted to show how women are empowering the world, how women can make a change,” Mansoor said.

The event raised just over $2000.

It’s estimated the crisis in Syria has claimed over 250,000 lives and displaced over 12 million people.

“The real spirit shines when you see the donations going out and when you see a family having a better future nothing makes us feel better,” Mansoor said.