Dear community,

With a broken heart we regret to inform you about the untimely passing of our dearest friend, cosplay enthusiast, and beloved community member Daraya Koedjoe AKA Darayacos. She passed away unexpectedly on Monday October 26th. We are devastated and will miss her dearly.

As her friends, we are setting up this GoFundMe to support funeral and memorial costs. She deserves to be remembered the same way she lived: with light, energy, incredible smarts, and loving all who crossed her path.

If you ever met Daraya, you would be instantly sparked by her bubbly personality and cheerful smile, as she would light up every room she walked into. Her involvement in local and international creative- and cosplay communities, together with her strong sense of justice left a lasting impact we will never forget.

As a social worker she worked with much devotion at Stichting Leergeld, providing children in vulnerable home situations with the funds and support to live normal lives. This is who Daraya was, she always wanted to help, and saw beauty and kindness in everyone she met.

Any amount would greatly help to say goodbye in a way that does justice to Daraya’s legacy. Please share this link among the cosplay, nerd, geek, anime, and social work communities to ensure we can give Daraya the goodbye she deserves.

Funds will be used to cover her funeral costs, a headstone, and any outstanding bills. All funds raised above the goal will be donated to Stichting Leergeld and 113 Suicide Prevention Netherlands, to ensure no more beautiful souls are lost too soon.

With warmest hugs in this difficult time,

Friends of Daraya

If you want to attend the funeral ceremony or have any music or photo material we could use, please go to Daraya's Instagram for more information (@darayacos)

Note: the actual goal of this GoFundMe is €10.000, but the GoFundMe platform puts the initial goal lower to incentivize donations.