On Saturday a vigil will be held on Sea Point Promenade in memory of children killed in Palestine and to collect donations for the Soles of our Souls School Shoe Drive.
Healthcare Workers 4 Palestine are collecting funds to buy 10 000 pairs of school shoes which will be donated to needy children in South Africa.
The campaign was sparked by 3-year-old Reem and her 5-year-old brother, Tarek, who were killed by an Israeli missile strike in November 2023 in the Al Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza.
A video of grieving oupa Khaled Nabhan holding Reem’s lifeless body while lamenting that she was the “soul of [his] soul” went viral.
“Reem and Tarek are two of over 10 000 children killed by the relentless Israeli bombardments and assaults on Gaza. We refuse to let these children become nameless statistics,” Healthcare Workers 4 Palestine said.
They have since been hosting nationwide vigils for victims, with the next one taking place on Saturday.
The Cape Town vigil will be held from 4pm to 6pm at the Sea Point Promenade, and the event will include first hand accounts by doctors who have worked in Gaza, Prof Louis Reynolds and Dr Asma Salloo, and a performance by 021REBELS, a group of teenage dancers from Delft and Mitchell’s Plain.
“In collaboration with Gift of the Givers, we will be collecting donations for 10 000 school shoes for South African children in need. Thousands of pairs of shoes will be displayed at the vigils as a visual representation of the sheer numbers of innocent children in Gaza who have now been killed,” the organisation said.
“We pay tribute to their precious lives, symbolically and practically, through giving shoes to needy school children in South Africa. This gives dignity to these school children when they go to school, contributing to a ripple of positive change in our communities.
“We also remember the children who remain in Palestine, many of whom are injured or orphaned and traumatized, and who lack access to water, food, shelter, healthcare and education. We want for Palestine’s children the same that we wish for our own children.
Your donations can be made via BackaBuddy at www.backabuddy.co.za/soles4souls.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za