Dear Editor,

The year 2009 brought many of us to our knees, which is probably very good. But as we start a new year, we are grateful for the fact that we still have life.

There are those, however, who are no longer with us, some famous, some not so famous, but whose lives made a difference to many. One not so famous person who left us on Sunday, December 27 was Ms Sarah Viola Harris. Ms Harris was the mother of Andrea McDonald-Black, a past student of Merl Grove High School and the president of the North Eastern American Chapter of the Merl Grove Past Students’ Association.

Ms Harris was a fierce defender of Jamaica and her “Jamaicanness”, and as is said in Jamaican parlance, “Di chip nuh fly far from di block.” Andrea has been equally a fierce defender of Jamaica and her “Jamaicanness”. Despite leaving Jamaica for a number of years, Ms Harris remained steadfast in her love for country and her countrymen and supported the efforts of the Past Students’ Association founded by her daughter. Her support for needy students at Merl Grove never ceased.

As a past student of Merl Grove too, I offer my condolences to Andrea and her family, not just from myself, but from the Merl Grove family worldwide.

Claudette Cameron-Stewart 

bogwalk1@yahoo.com