Charity will be tribute to Lanark teacher Maryam

Last month the school and all who knew the talented and dedicated 25-year-old were grief-stricken when Maryam died after a freak sledging accident at a Glasgow park.

Maryam received fatal injuries when her sledge struck a tree in Kelvingrove Park.

She died hours later, despite the efforts of paramedics on the scene and later the nurses, doctors and surgeons of the Western and then Southern General Hospitals in the city.

At her emotional funeral two weeks ago fulsome tributes were paid to a teacher who had won enormous affection from her P2 pupils and colleagues alike, her love of teaching and of the children she taught being obvious to all.

Among those paying tributes was Lanark Primary head teacher Margaret Scott, representing the school at the interdenominational service.

Her still-grieving family and Maryam’s fiance Andrew Duncan – whom she was to wed later this year – have decided that Maryam’s name should not fade away.

And they have come up with an idea to keep her memory alive in the most appropriate possible way.

The Maryam Najafian Foundation is to be created with the aim of raising money to help deprived children.

It has been, in part, inspired by an unsung – but entirely typical – small act of kindness Maryam performed most days at Lanark Primary School.

For more on this, pick up a copy of this week’s Carluke and Lanark Gazette.