It has been just over two months since a horrific and devastating fire ripped through Grenfell Tower in West London, claiming 80 innocent lives and destroying the homes and possessions of every single one of the residents who lived there.
Since the terrible events of that night, nearly £19 million has been raised to help the survivors of the disaster, but sadly Charity Commission figures show that less than 15% of that has actually reached the people most affected by the dreadful incident.
While Yvette Williams, of the Justice 4 Grenfell group, has said that the money being distributed has “definitely not been fast enough” and an enquiry into the disaster is finally set into motion, there have been stories of hope and kindness to come from the tragedy.
TV star, actor and author David Walliams took to Twitter this week to share a letter he had received from a child affected by the Grenfell Fire. The heartwarming letter was penned by a pupil of Avondale Park Primary School – which is situated just a short walk away from the now destroyed tower block.
[twitter] https://twitter.com/davidwalliams/status/897387240850149376 [/twitter]
Walliams visited the school last week to meet the pupils and donate new books to the students – many of whom would have lost all of their possessions in the fire. Following the star’s visit, he was touched to receive a ‘beautiful’ letter from one of the young pupils he met. Written neatly, the sweet note reads:
‘Here at Avondale it has been an extremely difficult time for us all due to recent events however your visit to the school was extremely uplifting and raised a smile on everyone’s face,’ read the letter.
‘I personally would like to thank you for all of the signed books you had given me, it really meant a lot to me especially after everything that has happened,’ the child added.
‘It also replaced the ones I lost.’
David Walliams is not the only famous face who has been quietly trying to brighten the lives of those affected by the terrible tragedy. Multi-award winning singer Adele has also been seen numerous times in West London, visiting schools and the firefighters who worked for hours to try and save lives that night and tackle the deadly blaze.
As part of her ongoing work within the community, Adele held a special screening of Despicable Me 3 in the area and invited families affected by the disaster to come and watch the film. Some of those invited to the private viewing shared their disbelief and gratitude to the singer for her kind gesture.
“The amazing Adele taking our grand kids to the cinema. So much love & effort for the #Grenfell kids – thank you xx” wrote one.
[instagram] https://www.instagram.com/p/BXVSUvegjyq/?taken-by=ganglandempire [/instagram]
Speaking of the Adele’s idea to surprise former Grenfell residents with the exclusive screening, a source told The Sun: ‘Being a local Londoner, [Adele’s] made no secret about how personally affected she was by the Grenfell Tower blaze and wants to help in every way she can.
‘While she’s working hard behind the scenes to raise cash, she wanted to treat residents to a night of fun and help take their minds off what happened and organised a private viewing of the brand new Despicable Me 3 movie.
‘Everyone was overwhelmed by her generosity.’
Meanwhile, the investigation into the fire continues. Detectives have confirmed that they believe they have ‘reasonable grounds’ to suspect corporate manslaughter could have been committed by Kensington and Chelsea Council and the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation.
