The parents of Sara Zelenak, an Australian who lost her life in last year’s Borough Market terror attack in London, have paid honour to their daughter’s memory by establishing a charity in her name.
Speaking to Channel Nine’s Today programme, Mark and Julie Wallace told of how their initial grief and anger at the loss of 21-year-old Sara soon gave over to a desire to create something positive.
“Sara’s name has to live on and I have to make something good out of something so horrific. This is my destiny in life now,” Julie told Today.
The pair are now setting up Sarz Sanctuary in their daughter’s honour. The aim of the new charity is to provide support for people who lose loved ones in sudden or violent circumstances.
“On Saturday, 3rd of June 2017, our lives changed forever when our daughter, Sara Zelenak, aged 21, was killed in the London Bridge and Borough Street Markets terror attack, “the website Sarz-sanctuary.org says.
“When Sara left for the UK a few months earlier to take the ‘Aussie rite of passage’ of living and working in the UK and travelling around Europe, we never thought it would be the last time that we saw her. Sara had a passion for life and was filled with excitement for her new adventures overseas.
“We were also excited about visiting her in Europe and had planned to meet her in Paris at the end of June to climb the Eiffel Tower, eat cheese and croissants, and drink French wines. Sadly this never happened.”
The site goes on to state from Julie: “We want to honour Sara’s life and give purpose to her loss by helping others who have, like us, suffered traumatic grief. We are motivated to find a greater good from what has happened. We keep a positive outlook and want to build this positivity in others.”
In memory of Sara, her parents have also undertaken a bike ride from the place where she was slain in London to the Eiffel Tower in Paris where they were supposed to next met her.
Sara Zelenak and Kirsty Boden were two Australians among those killed in the 2017 London terror attacks.
Sarz Sanctuary is taking donations at sarz-sanctuary.org
TOP IMAGE: Sara Zelenak (Via Facebook)
