School pays emotional tribute to ‘brightest stars’
Victory Christian Academy paid tribute to four pupils killed in a horror crash.
HUNDREDS of mourners packed the main hall at Victory Christian Academy this morning to pay their respects to the four pupils who were killed in a tragic accident on the R102 almost two weeks ago. They were travelling in a mini-bus with about 12 people on their way back from an adventure camp when a truck collided head-on with the mini-bus.
Tamia Mooroogasen, 13, Saisha Shampersad, 14, Andrea Thaver, 17, and Caitlyn Oliver, 14, were killed in the accident while teacher, Kris Ackerman, and student, Muhle Qwabe, were seriously injured.
A Powerpoint presentation, an interpretive dance and a video were among the emotional tributes to the school’s ‘brightest stars’. Family members, pupils and other parents wept openly as pictures flashed on the projector.
Principal of the school, Vernon David, said the girls ‘were taken too soon’ and said the memorial was about ‘honouring the memory of the girls’.
“The tragedy of 12 June, 2015 will be intertwined in the school’s DNA. At the beginning of this memorial we handed out wristbands with the acronym ‘ACTS’ (Andrea, Caitlyn, Tamia and Saisha), which stands for the first names of the girls taken from us. We will forever remember these amazing young girls,” he said.
The headgirl and headboy of the school also paid tribute to the girls. Headgirl, Unathi Matyana, said she grew closer to the girls at the adventure camp and considered herself akin to a mother figure.
“I never thought I’d be saying goodbye to ‘my babies’. I called them that because the last few days at the camp, I felt like I was the ‘mom’ of the house,” she said.
She went on to pay tribute to girl’s spirits and characters and ended by saying “So long girls, until we meet again.”
