This week, everybody involved with Baraka Community Association will be marking the anniversary of the tragic fire at the Grenfell Tower, which saw our community in West London lose 72 members, including a number of children known to us. Those who survived the fire and many people living nearby are suffering the ongoing effects of trauma at having lived through such a shocking and horrifying event.

This week in North Kensington a series of events will be held in the community to remember those that were lost, to show solidarity with those that have suffered so much and to enable community members to provide each other with moral, emotional and practical support.

North Kensington is a special area, with rich diversity and a vibrant spirit. This spirit was on display in the aftermath of the fire and has kept the community strong ever since.

Last year, Baraka was part of the grassroots response to the tragedy, providing direct assistance and volunteering on the ground to provide disaster relief.

As well as recognising the incredible efforts of local people, we would also like to pay tribute to the support that came from people outside North Kensington who played such a necessary role. We would like to share with you one particular example of spontaneous kindness and generosity from last summer:

Following the fire, there was unprecedented demand for places on our annual outdoor adventure trip to Hindleap Warren in East Grinstead. Two of the children who were booked to attend were Firdaws and Yahya Hashim, aged 12 and 13, who tragically died in the Tower.

A private school from outside of London was at Hindleap the week before our trip, and when they heard that two of the group from North Kensington had died in the fire, they asked the staff if there were any plans to do anything to commemorate Firdaws and Yahya. The Hindleap staff told them they were thinking of buying and planting a tree as a memorial.

The school children got together and decided that they would all give up their tuck shop money for the week and use the money to buy the tree, which was then planted at a ceremony for the North Kensigton children the following week.

At this time of great sadness and remembrance, the staff, trustees and volunteers of Baraka Community Association wish to pay tribute to those that were lost in the Grenfell Tower; the survivors; and the countless people near and far whose acts of selflessness and kindness we recognise as the true meaning of Community.

Baraka Community Association, June 13th 2018. First published here.