KISII, Kenya, Aug 25 – It is a Wednesday afternoon with a scorching sun and at John Nyabuto’s homestead, visitors can been seen streaming in one by one.
They remain silent, for minutes, before murmuring to each other in low tones as they gently wipe tears from their eyes.
Birds can be heard chirping from the eucalyptus trees in Nyabuto’s compound, as his chicken roam around oblivious of what the family is going through.
A cow is grazing on the nearby field, and it suddenly makes a mooing sound that breaks the silence of this devastated family that is now seeking funds to airlift the body of their daughter Hellen Wendy who drowned in Canada while live-streaming her swimming prowess on Facebook.
Seated under a tree is Wendy’s mother. She has a gloomy face, watery eyes, and she seems to be in deep thought.
Besides her is a framed photo placed on a plastic chair. In it, Wendy appears full of life, with a beautiful smile and a promising future. It’s a photo of a departed young soul whose tragic death has gone viral across the world.
Wendy’s tragic death occured while she was swimming in a hotel pool while on her Facebook page. Now, five days later, her family has not come to terms with losing a dear one.
“Thanks for coming,” says her mother, and asks if there is anything she can say in honour of her departed daughter, as she wipes tears with a piece of cloth on her shoulder.
Raised in a poor family, Wendy was determined to leave the country, study, and get a career to help her parents and siblings out of poverty. That was her main vision in life, the family says. Sadly, her star was shuttered as soon as it started shining.
After Wendy completed high school studies, she moved to Kisii town and took a driving course. This is where she met a friend who had the same dreams as her. One day, the two traveled to Nairobi’s Canadian Embassy, where they sought guidance on how they would travel and study. They came back home, applied for a passport, checked courses online, and so began her journey to Canada.
Wendy was a blood donor; in her life she had donated blood five times and she used to say she is a ‘lifesaver,’ who had dreams of becoming a nurse to safe more lives.
Wendy’s father, Nyabuto, says his daughter was very hardworking. She managed to pay fees for herself, pay fees for her younger siblings, and send money home for use while she was working as a nurse in Canada.
Nyabuto recalls the sweetest moments with his daughter, who taught him about video calls and enjoyed their video chats.
“She would video call me, put on a smile and then laugh loudly before she could say hello and we’d get into a conversation,” he said.
Nyabuto added video calls were the sweetest moments he ever had with Wendy. But now all this will be the sweet, short-lived memories she left behind.
Nyabuto said his daughter was quick at making friends and very social to anyone.
“It was difficult in breaking the news of losing my daughter, her friends would call and remain silent, some would say something has happened… until one calmed me down and explained to me what had happened, it is not easy to accept the passing on of my daughter,” said Nyabuto.
Nyabuto is now appealing for well-wishers to help his family raise funds to transport Wendy’s body from Canada to Kenya for burial. A ‘Go Fund Me’ fundraising account has so far raised more than $55,000 Canadian, exceeding its initial goal.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/funeral-and-burial-arrangements-for-hellen-wendy
