An aspiring doctor’s life snuffed out before delivering crucial message

Jun 05, 2022 News

By Shervin Belgrave

Kaieteur News – The West Bank Demerara (WBD) community of Goed Fortuin was plunged into grief on Wednesday after residents received the tragic news that the life of one of their own – a young girl who had already envisioned herself becoming a doctor – was snuffed out hours before she was able to deliver a crucial message at the Faith Gospel Ministries Church.
The life of 12-year-old Kayla Barnabas of School Road, Goed Fortuin, tragically ended around 15:45hrs when a “speeding” police vehicle slammed into her along the Goed Fortuin public road.
Kaieteur News attended her wake on Friday evening just to learn who Kayla was.

Kayla Barnabus was tragically killed in a road accident

She was described by her grieving family as “an angel that God gifted them for only a short while.”
Her Pastor, Peter Lila had predicted that she would become a Sunday school teacher and an active youth missionary in his church while Harrinarine, the headmaster of the school she attended, West Demerara Secondary School, called her a brilliant Maths student.
As Kaieteur News learnt more of her character, one thing was clear – Kayla had a message for her community but sadly her life was taken before she was able to do so.
The only person who had a slight clue about the message is her mother, Somattie Barbnabus and perhaps a friend at school.
Somattie recalled that Kayla woke up “extremely early” on Wednesday morning to prepare for school.
“The first thing, she wake-up extremely early, 5:30 (am),” Somattie said. The woman recalled that her daughter freshened-up, picked up some clothes from the clothes line and then ate a plate of chicken curry (even though she was not fond of that dish). Somattie said that while her daughter did her chores, she helped to pack her “book bag” for school.

A post she made on the first day of secondary school

She recalled have a conversation with her daughter during which she said, ‘mammy ah been write down a scripture on a paper to show meh friend in school’.
Somattie explained that they were planning to attend church that evening after school and Kayla had planned to share that scripture and give the congregation a detailed explanation of what it means.
The woman related that she was anxious to know what the scripture was and revealed, “While me a pack she bag me read the scripture wah she write.”
Written on a piece of paper were two bible verses – John 3:16 and John 3:17 – “16.For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him”.
Somattie was inspired and, like many others, she was anxious to hear Kayla’s explanation later that evening. She combed Kayla’s hair and sent her off to school with these words, “Baby ah love yuh watch the road be careful on the road, make sure yuh walk on the pedestrian crossing.”
Somattie then began to count the hours for her daughter’s return and as it got close to 15:00hrs she stepped out of her home and sat on her bridge to wait for her.
However, her wait would be in vain and the explanation of the scripture that Kayla wanted to share with the Goed Fortuin community never materialised.
“I was sitting on the bridge waiting on her to come home from school…ow… and a fella came riding on a bicycle and he seh ‘the chubby girl that does go West

Kayla at just a few months old

Dem is you daughter?’ and ah seh yeah wah happen. He seh: ‘she get knock down’ and I seh ow, way,” said the grief-stricken woman as tears trickled down her face.Kayla’s father, Delmon Barnabus, remembered his wife screaming out for him and relating the devastating news. “I got confused, I did not know what to do,” he said.
The couple comforted themselves by believing that it was only something minor.
“We said man it might not be nothing serious, probably she break her hand or foot,” Delmon told Kaieteur News.
But when they got to the hospital, their worst fears came true for lying on a table and covered from head to toe with a white cloth was the lifeless body of their daughter.
According to police, a corporal driving a police vehicle had slammed into her while she was crossing the road.

Little Kayla was always an ardent churchgoer

Eyewitnesses at the wake related that Kayla was dropped off by a bus and stood at the pedestrian crossing where she was waiting to cross the road.
Two vehicles had passed but then a car stopped with its hazard light on, allowing the child to cross. But as she hurried across, the speeding police vehicle slammed into her.
Police said that the corporal was trying to overtake the vehicle after it had stopped.
Family members are calling for justice and have related that they are worried that the police force may not do a fair investigation since it is standing all expenses for the funeral arrangements. One of the child’s uncles (who spoke on condition of anonymity) is of the view that cases involving police officers should be investigated by independent persons.
Meanwhile, family members are also calling on police to correct an error on Kayla’s death registration. According to them, investigators had given her time of death as 14:45hrs but Kayla was still at school around that time.
Even as the family continues to mourn her sudden demise, they have decided that they will remember Kayla as the bundle of joy that entered the world in February 2010 and touched their lives.
They have chosen to recall the moment, at age 4, when she told them that she will grow up to be a doctor and take care of her sick grandparents.
Relatives said that even though she was not given the chance to achieve her goal, the memories of her pretending to scribble prescriptions for her grandma and signing it as Dr. Barnabus will forever be etched in their memories.
At the time of her death, Kayla was the one who slept with and looked after her ailing grandmother, not because she was forced to do it but because she was very passionate about becoming a doctor.