Tafelsig residents hosted a day of remembrance for children who lost their lives due to violence on the Cape Flats.
Hundreds of people attended the event in Perdeberg Road on Monday.
Organiser of the event, Charmaine Curtis, whose son Vinchernico Theron was kidnapped and tortured two years ago, said she felt the need to get the youth together.
“We honoured all those fallen angels including Vinchernico, Stacha Arends, Tazne van Wyk, Ayesha Kelly, Stacey Adams and many more,” she says.
“The idea was to invite people to come and hang the name of a child they wanted to honour on a tree, while the youth led the event.”
The event started with youngsters, some as young as seven years old, reading from the Bible. Even the MC was nine years old.
There was also spiritual dancing and thereafter, a small talent show where the youth could show off their rapping, singing and dancing skills.
The kids were also handed appreciation certificates for their participation and hard work.
Charmaine says: “We lost so many of our future doctors, engineers, teachers, and some of them didn’t even know their worth, so while they are still here, we want them to know we appreciate them.”
Members of the Mitchells Plain Crisis Forum also joined in, and walked alongside the youth cadets who entertained the crowd.
Charmaine said while the event was mainly to honour “fallen angels”, it was also to uplift and empower the youth.
“We wanted them to see how important it is to be supportive within the community, to help one another. The bitter-sweet part is that these fallenangels brought us all together.”
tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za