Determined son laid to rest

An aspiring accountant, devoted father and loving friend who never got the chance to realise his dream.

These were the sentiments from family members, colleagues and friends of 22-year-old Rahim Juwan Ward during a funeral service for the slain youth of Cottage Grove, St George.

Teary-eyed friends and relatives poured out of the chapel at the Coral Ridge Memorial Gardens, many clad in uniforms bearing the logo of the Barbados Public Workers’ Cooperative Credit Union, where Rahim worked.

Family, friends and colleagues of Rahim Ward during his funeral service.

Tributes made no mention of the fact that Rahim’s body had been found in a shallow grave near the St Andrew Parish Church on August 30th, a week after a relentless search by police and soldiers under extremely bizarre circumstances.

Instead Debra Moore, delivering a eulogy written by Rahim’s mother, Barbara Dorant-Layne recalled the tremendous determination of a son who was devoted to his family and bent on succeeding.

The former Combermere student had successfully completed seven CXC’s and held an associate’s degree in accounts and economics from the Barbados Community College. His mother recalled her son’s determination to enter the world of work directly after BCC, which motivated him to distribute ten application letters.

He was accepted at the BPWCCUL and eventually rose to the position of accounts assistant. The young man was also offered a place at the University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill Campus in 2018, but deferred acceptance in anticipation of his daughter’s birth. Rahim re-applied and was preparing to enter university for the new academic year to pursue his dream of becoming an accountant.

“Rahim loved his daughter dearly… he was an outstanding father to Rakayla and on evenings, he would shout out ‘Kayla Kayla!’ She would run to the door and scream ‘Dada Dada!’ with much excitement on seeing her father.

The young man was remembered as having a very close relationship with all members of his immediate family and was very protective of his sister Tia.

His co-workers at the credit union also dearly loved Rahim where he was considered the ‘blue-eyed boy’.

Saadia Griffith, Rahim’s coworker and friend remembered the slain man as a quiet person who would not ‘stress’ about much.

“He was never one to be easily frustrated or irritated unless he was confiding in me about his workload. Nothing bothered Rahim and one of his favourite sayings was ‘things are going to work out man, don’t worry your head’,” she recalled.

She added that he was one of the few men who knew exactly what he wanted out of life.

“I always used to pressure him and ask him when he would get those UWI papers and he always replied ‘soon from now’,” remembered the soft-spoken friend.

“I have so many memories of Rahim and most of them reflecting his bright smile. These memories I will hold onto for the rest of my life.”

The service was officiated by Pastor Leslie Padmore. Rahim’s remains were laid to rest in the memorial gardens at Coral Ridge. kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb