Grenfell legacy for children’s dreams
Charity venture in memory of family of five killed by blaze
RELATIVES of a family of five killed in the Grenfell Tower fire today launched a charity venture to “fulfil the dreams” of children affected by the tragedy.
The Hashim Family Legacy fund has been set up in memory of Hashim Kedir, 44, Nura Jemal, 35, and their three children, Yaqub, six, Firdaws, 12, and Yahya, 13, who died in the disaster. They lived on the 22nd floor of the block in North Kensington and are among about 80 people believed to have died in the blaze.
The initiative is a collaboration between the Hashim family and Solidarity Sports, a Kensington-based charity for disadvantaged children that worked with Firdaws and Yahya. Their aunt Assema Kedir said: “We are proud that through the memory of Yaqub, Firdaws, Yahya, Nura and Hashim we are able to help children affected by the tragic Grenfell fire.
“The legacy aims to fulfil the dreams of children who have been left traumatised. We believe they would have wanted us to do something positive in their name and there is nothing more beautiful than fulfilling a child’s dream who has suffered so much.”
Solidarity Sports founder Sean Mendez said the idea had come out of a conversation with Firdaws’s best friend, who revealed her dream had been to go to Disneyland Paris.
He said: “Some of [the children] want to go to Disneyland, some want to do more down-to-earth things. They just want to go the cinema, to the park. There’s massive inequality in Kensington and Chelsea and many of the children we look after just don’t do things that many other families take for granted.
“It’s the best way of paying homage to the family.” To accompany the launch Solidarity has released a video showing Firdaws and Yahya enjoying a residential trip with the charity.
The video, made by Double Down News, features Channel 4 presenter Jon Snow, who had judged a debating competition won by Firdaws weeks before the disaster on June 14. In an emotional tribute he says: “She was spellbinding, amazingly confident… I thought, my God, that girl’s going to go far. It absolutely breaks my heart every time I think about her.”
Mr Mendez said: “They were two beautiful children with unique personalities. They were so energetic, bubbly and gregarious. Yahya was obsessed with football. And he loved Lionel Messi; we would love to take a group of children to Barcelona to a football match in his memory.”
Last weekend Mr Mendez and 15 children affected by the fire visited Disneyland Paris, to fulfil the dream Firdaws never could.
To donate to the fund visit mydonate.bt.com/events/hfl