"Love Volgograd" charity concert was held in the city center in Dom Soyuzov on the 7th of April.

Bidding farewell to the subzero temperatures in Volgograd, Russia, students of the Volgograd State Medical University welcomed the warmth of spring with the first ever Love Volgograd Charity Concert 2012.

The concert, themed “Charity Knows No Colours”, organized by the Love Volgograd Committee comprising students from Volgograd State Medical University and Volgograd Polytech University, featured a melting pot of modern and contemporary performances by different nationalities, cultures and ethnicities.

Kicking off the event was “Black Jack”, a local Russian hip hop dance crew who set the stage on fire and left the crowd wanting for more.

The Love Volgograd band consisting of Nigerians and Malaysians then took the stage and serenaded the crowd with a medley of songs by Adele “Someone Like You”, “Secrets” by One Republic and a Brazilian number “Ai Se Eu Te Pego” by Michel Telo.

Mystique, a Chinese student dance team also impressed the crowd with their version of Bad Girl Good Girl by the latest K-pop sensation, Miss A.

Russian rock band Skiniya continued to work the stage with their songs, having the crowd echo to their tunes and - testimony to their showmanship – received roaring cheers.

Zeus Alchemitz, a dance team from India not only rocked to the rhythm of remixed Tamil and Hindi songs but surprised the crowd with flawless Michael Jackson moves.

Vietnamese dance team, Kasta, displayed a different approach of choreography, clad in white masquerade masks and gloves, portrayed effortless contemporary dynamic moves and techniques.

The Love Volgograd band then returned on stage to sing Michael Jackson’s classic Heal the World. The event, a joint effort of Malaysian Student Association (MSA), Malaysian Chinese Students Community (MCSC), Volgograd Malaysian Indian Association (VMIA), Association of Nigerian Students In Volgograd (ANSIV) and The Indian Association, raised a total of 30,000 rubles (RM 3,000) and all proceeds were handed to “Horiv” Drug Rehabilitation Centre and “House of Mercy” Orphanage.

"Indeed we managed to achieve our aim of raising people's awareness to contribute towards charity. I am glad that we could do something small to give back to the community,” said Chien Keat Leong, the event organizer. “This would be a platform for better things to come in the future,” he added.

Indeed charity knows no colours. Everyone from all walks of life and ethnicities can unite for a greater cause. As was once said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

LILY CHONG (Malaysian student pursuing Medicine in VSMU)