When her mother was hit and killed by a car along the East Bank Demerara public road on Tuesday, Shalisa Harripersaud lost not only her only parent but her sole provider.
Shalisa, 18, is now considering quitting school to find a job.
The only child of the late Sarswattie Harripersaud, she is pursuing studies in Business Management at the Business School. Her mother had worked as a cook with M&M Fast Food Snackette for about 26 years and was the sole breadwinner of their home.
Shalisa noted that she was single handedly raised by her mother, who gave her the best of everything.
She told Stabroek News that her mother had celebrated her 56th birthday on October 9. She related the last conversation they had before the tragedy on Tuesday.
At 3.02 pm on that fatal day, Shalisa said, her mother called her and asked her permission to visit a relative at Goed Fortuin on West Bank Demerara. She said she found it strange that her mother would seek her permission to leave home, since that was unusual. It was only ten minutes after that conversation that she received another call from her mother’s number. However, instead of her mother, the voice on the other end was that of a strange male, who told her that he had found the phone. Her first thoughts were that her mother had been robbed. However, the caller alerted her to the accident and advised that she visit the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).
Upon venturing out to the public road, Shalisa saw a large crowd at the scene of the accident. It was then she realised that it was