Harlow: Memorial Playground For Fire Victims

A memorial playground is to be built at the school in Harlow where three victims of the Barn Mead fire attended.

Dr Sabah Usmani and her five children, Hira, 12, Sohaib, 11, Muneeb, nine, Rayyan, six, and three-year-old Maheen all died following the fire that tore through the downstairs of their terraced house last October. 

Dr Shakoor jumped from a bedroom window in a desperate attempt to get help for his family and then was unable to save them from the devastating fire that engulfed his home. 

Essex Police are treating it as a murder investigation but some five months on no-one's been arrested. Parents from Abbotsweld school have spoken of the heart break for the remainder of the school children and teaching staff. 

They have plans to turn a tragic event into something positive by creating a memorial playground in memory of the children Sohaib, Rayyan and Muneeb. 

This playground would also give hope and encouragement for the children left to deal with the loss of a friend at such a young age. 

Commercial Director of Fawns Playtime, James Gowan, told Heart: "We have designed a proposed play area that would include a pavilion for reflective time, an engraved bench with the children's named as a lasting memorial and a play area so they children can let off steam, express their feelings and rebuild their lives. 

"We would like to donate a large amount of this for free to the school, but we cannot cover the full cost of £30,000 by ourselves. The parents involved in the project are trying very hard to organise fund raising locally within the school and by approaching local companies. They have raised over £10,000 to date." 

www.abbotsweld.co.uk/