Money raised, Sohani's parents can fulfill their wish to bury their daughter in Eritrea

A collection for the parents of the deceased Sohani from Nieuwegein has raised over 50,000 euros. The goal is 32,500 euros, with which the 11-year-old girl, who was stabbed to death on the street on Saturday, can be buried in Eritrea. That has almost been achieved.

The fundraising campaign was started by parents of Tweeklank, the school where Sohani was in group 7. The parents now write that their expectations have been exceeded. "Wow, we never expected this to go so fast! We initially set the target amount flexibly on the advice of Gofundme to keep it feasible, but the generosity has exceeded our expectations."

One of the initiators is Sander Kaldenhoven. He is treasurer of the parent council of the Tweeklank, and has two sons who were in Sohani's class.

"From contact with the family, the wish emerged to bury her in Eritrea," Kaldenhoven tells RTL Nieuws. "That costs a lot of money. Initially, it is advanced by the close-knit Eritrean community, but ultimately the parents will have to pay it back. That is an amount that they cannot pay alone, and that is why we are helping."

Close-knit community

Donations started pouring in immediately after the campaign started yesterday. "That's a good sign," says Kaldenhoven. "We're noticing that Nieuwegein-Zuid, even though it's a city, is still a very close-knit community where many people know each other."

At Sohani's school, students and their parents came together yesterday to process the loss. "It's very intense, of course," says Kaldenhoven. "But it really brought the school together. People all stood together to seek support."

Professional help

To help deal with the grief, professional help was also present yesterday. "The school arranged it very well. We parents had to come to school later. The GGD was present, and so was victim support, especially in Sohani's class. And afterwards there is also an opportunity to call for help."

Kaldenhoven saw yesterday that the children reacted differently to the shocking news about the death of their classmate. "It was the first day that she was not at school. The process is only just beginning, and each child is doing it in their own way."

There is still a lot of uncertainty about the stabbing, for which a 29-year-old suspect has been arrested. For example, it is still a big mystery why Sohani, who was playing outside with friends, was stabbed.

What is certain is that the murder of the girl in Nieuwegein-Zuid came as a bombshell. Many people were shocked by the horrific event, and neighbors left flowers at the spot where the girl died.

Dehai News