By Alesha Capone
Bless Mulukwate Akoch will “be a Werribee man for life”.
This is the vow of his cousin, Akoc Adup, who – along with the rest of Bless’ family and friends – is mourning the loss of the 17 year-old boy, who died on May 8.
A Wyndham Vale boy, 15, has been charged with murder in relation to Bless’ death.
Mr Adup is organising Bless’ funeral on behalf of his grief-stricken parents, who have lost their only son.
A funeral will be held on May 22, while a date has yet to be set for a community vigil, which will be held at Eagle Stadium.
He said Bless, who turned 17 in March, was born at Werribee Mercy Hospital and baptised at a Werribee church.
Bless attended school in Tarneit and had been volunteering as a basketball coach to junior players at Eagle Stadium for about 18 months.
“He is going to be a Werribee man for life, he will be buried here,” Mr Adup said.
He described Bless as a “very friendly, very easy-going and down-to-earth kind of person”.
Bless also enjoyed soccer, football and skateboarding.
“He liked sport and was hoping to be a professional basketballer or professional in any sport he was good at,” Mr Adup said.
“He wanted to study at university, his mother is an enrolled nurse, so he wanted to study something in the sciences.”
South-Sudanese community leader Richard Deng, who is friends with Bless’ family, said: “We are totally broken and unsettled to lose a young person.
“This is a great loss, we want Bless to be remembered as a good child who wanted to make a difference to the community,” Mr Deng said.
