On Friday morning, pupils at Al-Madina Primary left hand-drawn daisies on an empty desk.
It belonged to four-year-old Sara Nanabawa, remembered by head-teacher Abdullah Samad as a “ray of sunshine” who “lit up the classroom.”
Sara, her father Akeel Nanabawa (37) and her mother Hannaa Vorajee (36) lived in Gloucester.
Friends say the couple were known for quiet charity work—raising funds for medical care in India and humanitarian relief in Gaza.
Both ran Iceberg, an outsourcing firm with offices in Gloucester and Ahmedabad.
Akeel enjoyed sport and socialising; Hannaa, a trained midwife, also helped at Iceberg’s sister company, Rec2Go.
“They touched lots of people and they will be missed by lots of people. They helped fundraise for the humanitarian efforts in Gaza and medical care for poor individuals in India. That was part of their service to the community.”
head-teacher Abdullah Samad told the BBC.
The successful young couple’s business partner Shoyeb Khan Nagori told the Mail: “I had dinner with them last night. They were a lovely family and Akeel and his wife were extremely successful people. They were here to celebrate a family festival and to spend some time with Akeel’s father. Akeel was a really good man, I’m in shock, we were all having dinner together the night before.”