Shekhar Suman , hosted the afternoon's concert that saw Yoko Ono and Cherie Booth QC, who is also President of The Loomba Trust, say a few words about the aims of the International Widows Day. Performances were given by 4x4 Bhangra Group who are the renowned pioneers of Freestyle Bhangra dance and the first people to push the boundaries with their blend of Eastern and Western dance. Sexy siren Kashmira Shah also performed to top Bollywood melodies, with singing sensations Sophia, Sunidhi Chauhan and Bhangra icon Jazzy B performing tracks from his chart topping albums.

The Loomba Trust is a UK-based charity established in 1997, which is dedicated to promoting the welfare and education of the children of poor widows and other orphaned children throughout India as well as worldwide. Raj Loomba, Founder and Chairman of The Loomba Trust, has a personal mission to highlight the predicament of widows and their children from all over the world and to provide a focus for effective action. Loomba's direct association and impetus to establish this Trust stems from his mother, Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba, who was widowed at the age of 37 in 1954 and single-handedly raised seven young children.

Widows in many developing countries face extreme hardship and bring up their children in poverty. The Trust aims to help remove the stigma associated with losing a husband and by providing support. Through doing this, it will prove one of the most important and effective ways of fighting global poverty and injustice - a key factor in achieving the United Nations Millennium Goals.

Today, The Loomba Trust is educating 3,500 children in all 29 Indian states, including 500 in Tamil Nadu, South India, who lost their fathers or both parents in the 2004 Tsunami. Beneficiaries are selected without regard to gender, religion or class, and scholarships are guaranteed for an initial period of five years.

Mr Loomba said, 'I believe the International Widows Day is very important as it focuses on the plight of the widows and their children around the world who are suffering from poverty, illness, diseases of HIV/Aids, conflict and social injustice. The problems faced by widows is not limited to India alone, there are millions of Widows in countries in Asia and Africa who need our help. Together we can do it.'