‘Flour girl’ Charlene sorely missed – Amsterdam family

Charlene’s older daughter Akeelah holds her baby sister Ameenah as they pose with their grandparents Vibert and Evadney Amsterdam with whom they live.

For some, Christmas is not Christmas without black cake, oven fresh homemade bread and all the usual baked goods and the Amsterdam family of Linden faced this reality this year for the first time.

Charlene Amsterdam was one of several maternal deaths this year at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) and her passing has left a void in her parents’ Amelia’s Ward, Mackenzie, Linden home especially at Christmas time.

Evadney Amsterdam, her mother, said the family has lost a special person at a time when her absence would be felt the most because she was the one