By Trudy Simpson, Staff ReporterSHAKARA HARRIS loved school. In fact, the 12-year-old Merl Grove High School student was trying to cross the busy Constant Spring Road, St. Andrew, to get to school, when she was hit by a sport utility vehicle on January 23. She was pronounced dead at hospital.
Yesterday, Shakara was eulogised at two thanksgiving services, the first of which was at Merl Grove High School, 77 Constant Spring Road, Kingston 10. The other was in her hometown, Glengoffe, St. Catherine.
Shakara, in school uniform, rested in a pink casket, on which was her likeness, her pet name, 'Roshine', the school's emblem and its motto, Labor Omnia Vincit 'Hard work overcomes all difficulties').
It was almost too much to bear for her mother, Althea Harris, who was supported by mourners as she viewed her daughter's body.
At one point, Mrs. Harris bent over the casket and wailed softly.
Seated, she rested her head in her hands, rocking back and forth while sobbing quietly before eventually subsiding into silence.
Nearby was Shakara father, Cleveland, who wiped tears from his wife's eyes with a handkerchief as he sat with her and Shakara's five sisters and four brothers.
TEARS AND ANGER
Tears, much anger and several tributes in song, poetry and words came from schoolmates, school administrators and other education officials.
Family members and friends reserved their tributes for the second service at the Glengoffe Seventh-Day Adventist Church, St. Catherine, in the church cemetery of which Shakara was buried.
Shakara understood hard work well, her classmates and school officials recalled.
"I'm feeling very sad. I think about all the things that we used to do. Like share jokes. She's always smiling," said Shakara's best friend, Kimberly Hyman, tears welling up in her eyes. "We used to have lunch together and anytime I don't understand something (schoolwork), she'll help me and anytime she don't understand, I'll help her. I miss the way me and she used to play together."
AN ARDENT CHURCHGOER
Carol Alexander, seventh grade co-ordinator, said: "She was an ardent churchgoer... (and) an inspiration to classmates."
Through Ms. Alexander, classmates described Shakara as 'a kind person and a caring student who always looked out for other students'. She was hailed as a lively, helpful and enthusiastic young lady who loved icecream and who was very alert in class.
Dr. Alfred Sangster, Merl Grove's board chairman, said the school had established a fund to raise money to construct an overhead bridge to make crossing safer for students. It was named 'The Shakara Harris Fund' and offerings collected during the funeral service went to it.
LOBBYING FOR CROSSING
The administration vowed to continue lobbying for the replacement of a pedestrian crossing in front of the school. The National Works Agency (NWA) has disagreed, stating that the five-lane thoroughfare is too dangerous for pedestrians and has instead recommended that students use a crossing a few metres away. The school insists that the proposed alternative is dangerous. Speakers at the service lobbied for more signs to be posted in the area and for Government to enact and enforce a 25 km per hour speed limit in the area.
Witcliffe 'Steelie' Johnson, 41, music producer, the driver of the SUV that struck Shakara, is to return to court on February 19. He was charged with manslaughter and was released on $150,000 bail.
