South Africans are coming together on Christmas Eve to help a 4-year-old left behind, after a well known Cape Town Chef lost her life in a domestic violence dispute.
On the morning of Christmas eve, South Africa received the most tragic news, as the beloved headchef for The Backyard Cafe in Cape Town was killed in a brutal act of domestic violence the night before.
Caroline Mofu, a well known chef in Cape Town was stabbed to death by her husband before he took his own life, leaving behind a baby boy of just four years old.
“It is with the heaviest hearts that we must share our sad news with you, the Backyard Cafe family. Our human angel, Caroline, flapped her wings and tragically left this earth last night. We could not imagine a more loving, fun, gentle, caring and positive member for our team, and we know that all who ate at the cafe were blessed enough to taste her love.”
“Carrie has been with us from the very beginning of our journey and leaves behind a gaping hole along with a legacy that will never be forgotten.”
“With the tragic passing of both her and her husband, she also leaves behind her precious 4 year old son, Ayola on Christmas Eve. We will be reaching out to everyone in the Backyard community for support and to help us ensure that Ayola can live the full and happy life that Caroline had dreamed for him.”
“Thank you for all of your magic Carrie. We all love you so much and will miss you every single day. It feels impossible to carry on without you, but we know how much you loved your kitchen and our little backyard, and we will do everything in our power to make sure that it continues to grow in the way that you have always envisaged.”
“Hamba Kahle special soul”
Juliet Harding, lead singer of Goodluck and one of Caroline’s friends heard the tragic news and started a crowd-funding page to raise money for Ayola, her 4 year old son left behind.
“The story is incredibly tragic but we are hoping to keep Carrie’s legacy alive and we start by reaching out to our communities to help us look after this small son of her’s and while we can never take away the trauma he has experienced, we can help ease the pain with the right councilling and setting up of funds to provide for his future.”
“Carrie was an angel, she lived for her passion and that was to cook. She would make amazing meals for the people who visited the backyard cafe and everyone who met her would instantly fall in love with her warm, kind and generous personality.”
Her story is beautiful one – she started working for the Harding family as a part-time domestic worker, simply helping out with the ironing and odd jobs around the house. Juliet’s sister Nicola spotted something in Carrie that she really loved and quickly snapped her up to help her at her coffee shop in Bergvliet.
She started out cleaning, and washing dishes but after only a few months Carrie discovered she had a gift for baking and cooking. She worked extremely hard and spent every waking minute learning new skills and improving her craft and after only 1 year Carrie was promoted up the ranks to Head Chef of the Backyard Cafe.
“Carrie was honestly in her prime when her life was so violently taken from her and what saddens us the most is that she was living out her passion, her dream and now she has left behind an innocent baby boy.”
“This Christmas, our wish is that we honour this remarkable woman’s memory.”
“We have put this fund together so we can, as a community raise enough money to take care of the baby she has left behind.”
Ayola will be placed with his grandmother, Elizabeth, who herself is a single parent but the family are trying to assist her in every way possible to help with what ever they can.
And since the story broke, community members from around South Africa have done just that. People have been donating money, their time and skills to assist during this incredibly tough time.
From offering free trauma counseling to people donating large amounts… South Africans are coming together this Christmas to give the gift of love during an incredibly tragic time.
To assist with donations or your skills or anything you might be able to help with, please click here.
by 
So terribly terribly sad.