Riaan remembers raises valuable funds

National Deaf Children’s Society supporters Raj and Sharan have been remembering the life of their son Riaan in aid of our charity through a project called Riaan Remembers. The project aims to raise funds in Riaan’s name for organisations that provide support for children and their families. The couple chose to include the National Deaf Children’s Society in the list of beneficiaries as they wanted to give back to the charity after receiving our support.

Raj and Sharan initially wanted to raise £7,500 to thank the organisations they received support from, but they have surpassed this target and have raised almost £10,000 – a truly incredible and transformative amount.

The project is also raising awareness of the importance of baby first aid. The family had attended a course just 9 days before Riaan passed away and the skills they learned allowed them to act quickly when Riaan became unwell. Raj is also raising awareness on grief from a Father’s perspective and has written a poem which caught the attention of over 1,000 users on social media after Tommy’s, the baby loss charity, shared his post.

The first Christmas without you came, the first Christmas without you went, Smiles were painted on our faces but underneath the tears were spent

It was not the way we dreamt it; it was not the way we planned, And the sad thing is there are far too many people that can truly understand

It wasn’t a season to be jolly, it was a season thinking about what we missed, Because the only thing we want can’t be put on Santa’s list

You may not have physically been here, but I felt you – in some way, some form, We now have to learn to accept that this kind of Christmas will forever be our norm

Because no matter what happens in our future, whatever hands we’re dealt, At every single gathering, your absence will be felt

The first Christmas without you came, the first Christmas without you went, Smiles were painted on our faces but underneath the tears were spent.

We are extremely grateful to Raj, Sharan and all of their family and donors who are remembering Riaan’s life in such a special way. For more information on the Riaan Remembers project, you can follow them on Instagram by searching @Riaan_remembers. You can donate towards the project on their JustGiving page here: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/riaanremembers

Raj and Sharan have raised funds and awareness in Riaan's name