Manchester youth leader’s memorial project inspired by youngest victim of Manchester Arena attack
- Saffie-Rose Roussos was the youngest person to die in the Manchester Arena attack
- Moss Side youth worker, Mohammed Max, set up the #RoseTogether project with funding from the Rio Ferdinand Foundation
- Volunteers handed out 500 handmade origami roses in memory of Saffie-Rose
Moss Side based youth leader Mohammed Max hopes his #RoseTogether project can grow to become a symbol for years to come.
Max, 19, with the help of his enthusiastic volunteers, spent the day at St Ann’s Square handing out origami roses etched with the names of the 22 people who lost their lives.
Max said: “The reason why I chose origami instead of regular roses is because origami never dies, origami stays alive, it can keep going, you can pass it on for generations. It’s a symbol of love, showing the love here in Manchester will never die either.
“Every anniversary, we’ll give out more roses, we do have the bee symbol, but who’s to say we can’t have this beside the bee symbol also.”
The #RoseTogether project was funded by the Rio Ferdinand foundation, a foundation Max credits for the project’s success.
He said: “People of different multi-ethnic races, religions, have all come together to make this possible – Manchester Academy, Deans Trust High School and Stockport Academy all helped.
“We were funded by the Rio Ferdinand foundation to make this project happen, without them it wouldn’t have really worked.”
We are incredibly proud of #YouthLeader Max & volunteers for his #RoseTogether project in memory of the Manchester attacks. Tune into ITV news @ 10pm for more details! Well done Max! pic.twitter.com/9n8Zxr1V7l
— Rio Ferdinand #RFF (@riofoundation) May 22, 2018
The Northern Quota managed capture the moment when Saffie-Rose Roussos’ family members met Max.
Saffie, 8, was the youngest person to die in the Manchester Arena attack last year, and she was the inspiration behind the origami roses.