THE family and friends of the late Valeria Amormim ‘can’t express how thankful they are’ after the Fermanagh community raised a staggering £23,000 to help with the burial of the 28-year-old Brazilian mother.
Ms Amorim, who was six months pregnant, died suddenly following a tragic road crash which occurred in Belleek on Monday, February 19.
A close friend of the family, Enniskillen man Glenn Lindsay, set up a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to pay for Ms Amorim’s funeral and burial which is taking place in Brazil next week.
The Fermanagh community went above and beyond, raising £22,965. Mr Lindsay is very thankful for the support of the local people.
“It [the death of Valeria Amorim] hit everybody’s heart. It could have been anyone’s family at the end of the day and for anyone with children, it really hit their hearts,” the Enniskillen father told the Herald.
“This is down to the people and their generosity. It’s really unbelievable.”
On Friday night, hundreds of people turned out to the Mary Queen of Peace Church in Garrison for Ms Amorim’s Requiem Mass.
Celebrant Fr Niall Martin from Belcoo expressed his sympathies to the two families grieving following the tragic accident. He told the congregation that the community around Belleek and the wider community in Brazil were also grieving.
Representatives from the Brazilian Consulate to Ireland were present at the Requiem Mass.
A close friend and work colleague of Ms Amorim’s husband, Marcelo, Mr Lindsay was called to the family home in Belleek following the tragic accident.
The Enniskillen man felt the need to help the grieving family, who were left concerned regarding the financial pressures of repatriating Ms Amorim’s remains to Brazil for burial.
“Like the rest of us, he’s [Marcelo] a working man, and he was worrying about money. Somebody had told him about the price of a funeral,” he said.
“He said to me, ‘Glenn, I haven’t got £5,000’ and I told him not to be worrying about it. I told him he wouldn’t have to worry about it for a month or two and we’d get it sorted.
“I was coming up the road from Belleek and I rang my wife and son. I mentioned that we’d have to try and get this man [Marcelo] some money because he had enough on his mind.
“We set it [a GoFundMe page] up to try and get some funds raised for a funeral and that night it took off. I couldn’t get over it, when I got up the next morning, and it was at £3,000.”
On Sunday, Ms Amorim’s remains will be repatriated to Brazil and her family will make the arduous trip to South America for the burial in the city of Anápolis.
Mr Lindsay hopes that the fund raised on GoFundMe will make a difference to the family.
“They can’t believe it. They never thought they’d be able to bring her home for burial. Words can’t say how thankful they are,” he said.
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