The father of a Kenyan woman Wendy Hellen Nyabuto who drowned in a swimming pool in Canada while live streaming on Facebook has revealed that the family is willing to spend a fortune just to bring her body to Kenya.
Wendy could be seen in a video struggling to stay afloat after diving into the deep end of the pool on August 17, 2022.
The 23-year-old health worker had earlier responded to comments from viewers before resuming her swim.
Her body was spotted hours later at the bottom of the pool. According to her brother Enock Nyabuto , she drowned in Collingwood, Ontario, the town where she worked.
Wendy’s father John Kiyondi Nyabuto said he will only find closure from his daughter’s tragic death when her body is repatriated back to Kenya for burial.
The 56-year-old told CNN that he badly wants his daughter’s body returned to Kenya.
“According to our tradition, one is supposed to be buried where he or she was born. I’ll not feel comfortable, psychologically, if my daughter is buried away from Kenya,” he said.
Repatriating Wendy’s body will take a toll on her family’s meager resources and Enock said they’ve started a GoFundMe campaign to raise 50,000 Canadian dollars (4,606,100) to help with her burial costs.
“The family is going through a rough time now. All we want is for her body to be transported back home for burial,” he said.
Enock started a gofundme fundraising page, well-wishers donated at least Ksh6 million to fly her body from Canada to Kenya.
According to Enock, the total cost to fly the deceased’s body is approximately Ksh6 million. The brother alongside Bruce Birundu created the gofundme fundraiser on Sunday, August 21 to raise the funds for the send-off.
However, gofundme platform charges 2.9 per cent and an additional Ksh36 from each donation.
