A number of Cape Town funeral parlours have offered free funeral services and assistance to the grieving families of the five children who died on Tuesday.
This comes after a fatal accident in Mitchells Plain claimed the lives of five schoolchildren between the ages of seven and eleven and saw two more children, in critical condition, taken to hospital.
Also read: Traffic accident claims the lives of five schoolchildren in Cape Town
Gripped by the tragic accident, Davids Funeral Services in Kuilsriver pioneered the string of offerings with a Facebook post on Tuesday offering a full funeral, free of charge, to one of the affected families.
The post read:
‘If anyone has contact with the families who lost their children this morning in the tragic accident at the robot of AZ Berman and Kerrem Street at Promenade Mall, Mitchells Plain, please do give the family this message:
Should one of the families struggle with funeral arrangements and do not have funeral cover or finance to cover their funeral arrangements, we as Davids Funeral Services want to bless one of those Families with a full funeral, free of charge.
Our hearts bleed for those parents.
God Bless ‘
Having three young children himself, Endrico Davids, the owner of the funeral home, told IOL that now is the time to stand together as the city, province and nation mourned.
‘I’m doing it without any agenda. I have been in this industry for ten years and I know parents don’t put children on policies because they are still young.’
While his business has offered a free funeral to one family, he said anyone who comes forward will be assisted.
Moved by this gesture, two more funeral services, Martin’s Funerals and Goodall & Bourne Funeral Undertakers, followed suit in offering full funeral services free of charge.
Acknowledged and thanked by Ward 81 Councillor Ashley Potts in the comment section, Davids was told the councillor would be in touch to ensure each funeral home would be connected to a bereaved family in need.
Davids confirmed that a few relatives had already contacted the funeral home.
Additionally, a local group of bikers joined the initiative with an offer to provide free funeral escorts to the families.
Also read:
Driver involved in major accident that claimed five young lives arrested
Picture: @LudidiVelani / Twitter