Lewisham daughter sets up fundraiser to give late father ‘the burial he deserves’

By Charles Harrison

“He never gave up,” said Lewisham daughter of her late father, for whom she is now running a fundraiser to give him the burial she feels he deserves.

David Salongo, 84, who had been staying in a care home at Sandbach Place, Woolwich, passed away peacefully from his second stroke on May 26.

Now, his daughter Fiona Wandera, 23, from Cressingham Road is running a fundraiser on GoFundMe to raise enough money to transport his body back to Uganda to be buried.

“He always said, if anything happens, he would want to be in Uganda,” said Ms Wandera.

“It was so close to him.”

The fundraiser started last month with a goal of £10,000.

The money is necessary for the extensive costs involved in moving a body overseas, which has worsened due to Covid restrictions – Ms Wandera said that the repatriation costs alone could reach up to £5000.

Ms Wandera said the response to the fundraiser has been “quite good,” with £2,500 raised so far.

“We’ve just felt really grateful,” she said.

Mr Salongo had been in a care home for the last year, which prevented his family from being able to see him.

“It was really difficult not being able to see him last year. We couldn’t even go over there just to see him through the door,” Ms Wandera said, “but he was always hopeful that things would change.”

Even after his first stroke in 2018, which left the left side of his body paralysed, Ms Wandera said her father was still himself.

She has been overwhelmed by the words of friends and family who had known him.

“So many people have come to me with stories of how he had touched their lives and helped people.

“It’s made me so happy to hear that my dad was able to make such a difference.”

Mr Salongo moved to Lewisham with his wife Grace in the 80s, where he worked as a private cab driver – although he struggled after the introduction of services like Uber and Bolt began to dominate the market.

He regularly sent money home to his mother and siblings in Uganda.

“The poverty levels are high there and people aren’t financially secure,” said Ms Wandera.

“He did whatever he could to help his family, and had a lot of perseverance.

“He just didn’t give up.

“He was selfless.”

Due to the levels of poverty, Mr Salongo’s family needed financial support for healthcare and medicine when they frequently fell sick due to poor living conditions.

He also sent money home to Uganda to help pay for their education.

Ms Wandera feels that a burial in Uganda is the best way she can show her love for her father.

“Until it’s happened to you, you just can’t understand how important it is to you to lay your parents to rest where they wish to be.

“I would just ask people to have us in their hearts, and give whatever they can, because we’d be so grateful for anything.”