Northlands Girls' High School pupils, Dayaan Parthiephal and Erryn Walters hold up the trophy donated by the Rampookar family.
A DURBAN North family have honoured their daughter’s memory by donating a chess trophy to her former school. Ashwin Rampookar told of his anguish following the death of his daughter on a hiking expedition in Swaziland in March this year. Adika Rampookar, 24, a former Northlands Girls’ High School pupil, was hiking a trail in Piggs Peak when she lost her balance and fell.
Her family have been trying to come to terms with her death. Her father, Ashwin, said his daughter had done the family proud and the trophy was a way of honouring her contributions.
“It’s been very tough for us, she was our baby. It’s unimaginable having to bury your child, but Adika was an inspiration to all, she loved giving back and was involved in various community initiatives. She would often help at the Verulam Day and Frail Care Centre. She was selfless and kind-hearted. She excelled in everything she did. She also loved chess, it was one of her passions. It was something both my wife and I missed out on in our time and we encouraged Adika to pursue it.”
Adika Rampookar died earlier this year during a hiking trip in Swaziland.
Adika represented the school, was the captain of the chess team, and also represented the province.
“We decided to honour her memoryby donating a chess trophy to the school. She will always be with us, in our hearts and our minds and we wanted that for the school as well. The trophy has the inscription, ‘In memory of our late captain, Adika Rampookar Achiever Trophy’, I think it embodies her qualities and it serves as a symbol of inspiration for the pupils of the school,” Ashwin said.
“We were shocked to hear of Adika’s untimely death. Not only was Adika strong academically but she was a committed and dedicated pupil who enjoyed an intellectual challenge. No wonder then that her passion was chess. As a school, we are honoured that, in some way, we can keep Adika’s spirit alive by giving this award to a pupil who is excelling in sport at our annual Speech Night,” Graaf said.
The trophy has the inscription, ‘In memory of our late captain, Adika Rampookar Achiever Trophy’
