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From Bono's shout-out to grassroots fundraising, it was a good weekend for 

An event held Friday in Minneapolis reeled in about $53,000 in donations and pledges to help the American Refugee Committee provide aid to famine victims in Somalia, organizers say.

That amount will be matched by corporate donations, said a spokeswoman for the Minneapolis-based ARC.

One of the event's organizers, Mohamed Hassan of Minneapolis, said the outpouring of support surpassed even his expectations. He and Hassan Mohamud, imam of the Da'Wah mosque in St. Paul, helped put together the event in less than a week.

"For many of us, particularly the Somalis, it's personal," Hassan said of the drought's effect on refugees. "We know what they're going through. Some people are losing family members to starvation. I lost family members to war and killing."

There were non-Somalis in the crowd at Friday's banquet, a promising sign that news about the crisis in the Horn of Africa is reaching the mainstream, Hassan said. On Saturday, he hopes to put on a benefit concert to raise even more cash for those left behind.

Safari Restaurant and Banquet Center held back-to-back-to-back fundraisers.

Restaurant co-owner Jamal Hashi donated the banquet space. Hashi said it's the responsibility of all Somalis in America to help their extended family and fellow countrymen back home.

"I feel guilty that my fridge is full. I feel guilty that I have a/c on in my house. It could've been any of us," he told MPR's Rupa Shenoy.

to the cause through ONE, the advocacy group he co-founded to fight poverty and preventable disease. While performing in Minneapolis Saturday, he gave a plug to the ARC's 

and met privately with a number of Somali-American community members before the show.

In the U2 frontman's own words, according to the 

(Photo courtesy of ONE. U2 lead singer and ONE cofounder Bono and K'naan, the Somali-born singer and poet, meet with Somali Minnesotans in Minneapolis last night to discuss efforts to combat the famine in Somali. Left to right are Mohamed Samatar, Shukri Abdinur, Bono, K'naan, and Ruqia Mohamed.)

Minnesota News

The Cities Blog

Laura Yuen

Author

Local Somalis and allies raise $53,000 to help famine victims in the Horn of Africa.

$53K raised for Somali famine victims; Bono sounds alarm

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