MEMBERS of a community in Dundee gathered in a pub near where a scientist was fatally attacked to raise money for her grieving family and “honour her name and her life”.
Dr Fortune Gomo, 39, died after suffering injuries near her home in the city on the afternoon of Saturday, July 5. The Scottish Water employee had studied in Scotland and Zimbabwe, and was a mother.
The community gathered on Sunday at Sandy’s Bar, close to where the attack happened, for a fundraising event that included sessions from local musicians, raffles and face painting.
Manager Sinead McGuire said: “We all live in that area where it happened and we all work here too. Because it was so local to us we wanted to do something to help out and show the kind of community support. We never expected it to take off as well as it did.”
McGuire added that the money raised will go “straight” to Dr Gomo’s grieving family.
McGuire approached musician Andrew Crawford, to organise music for the event. He said the number of people who came forward to get involved was “overwhelming”. “When we started posting it out on social media, people automatically wanted to just find out what was going on,” he said.
“Musicians wanted to donate their time and their skills. People wanted to put donations and money, then raffle prizes. And it grew arms and legs. Inside 48 hours, it became quite a substantial event.”
Crawford explained that people had been “shocked” by the news of the attack, and had wanted to show Dundee is “full of love”. “One, [the event] shows the community spirit,” he said. “Two, it shows that we’re listening. We’re aware of what goes on round about us, what we want to bring and show is that it’s safe to be here in Dundee.
“People here care about what happens in their community. Without that, we don’t have anything.
“And they just want to show the family that Dundee is a city that cares, that the majority of people in Dundee are full of love.”
