The NG Kerk is to assist with the education of five-month-old Lesray Mentor who lost her mother in a taxi shooting.
|||Cape Town - The NG Kerk is to open a trust fund to assist with the education of five-month-old Lesray Mentor who lost her mother in a taxi shooting last week.
Lesline Mentor, 26, was shot dead while travelling to work in a taxi on Concert Boulevard in Retreat on the first day back after maternity leave.
Mentor was only due to return in March, but decided to go back earlier to make money to support Lesray, as it is understood the father was not supporting the child.
A 30-year-old man also died in the shooting.
Riaan de Villiers of the NG Kerk in Cape Town said church members were deeply shocked that a young mother was gunned down so brutally. He said they were tired of hearing about drugs and gangsterism.
“We saw that Lesray was orphaned and decided to start a trust for her education.”
De Villiers will meet the family on Wednesday to discuss the matter.
“We are planning a conference in March with speakers from Brazil and the US. Funds raised at this event will go straight into a trust for Lesray.”
Antonio Carlos Costa, the leader of the Rio de Paz movement in Brazil, a large NGO that stands up for the rights of victims of drug and gang violence, will be one of the keynote speakers. He will be joined by Shane Claiborne from the US, who has travelled to Rwanda, Afghanistan and Iraq on peace delegations.
Both pastors had done intensive work in troubled communities, said De Villiers.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Shaun Mentor said it was still extremely difficult to come to terms with Lesline’s death.
“Her mother, Francina, has taken it very hard.”
Lesline will be buried from St Mary’s Church in Retreat on Saturday.
natasha.bezuidenhout@inl.co.za
Cape Argus