Online fundraiser raises Sh4.3m for Kenyan who drowned in Canada

At least 46,800 Canadian dollars (Sh4.3 million) have been raised to help the family of the Kenyan national, Hellen Wendy Nyabuto, who drowned in Canada last week.

The family is targeting to raise Sh4.6 million (50,000 Canadian dollars).

The funds will be used to repatriate her body and offset her burial expenses.

Hellen died while swimming in Ontario, Toronto in Canada, where she was a student-nurse.

A GoFundMe set up by her sister has since raised Sh4.3 million.

One well-wisher donated Sh46,100 (500 Canadian dollars) to the family.

At least 1,100 well-wishers had taken part in the charity.

The 24-year-old Canada-based Kenyan nurse, livestreamed her swimming session on Facebook before her death.

Although Hellen drowned at around Minute Ten of the livestream, her phone, which had been placed on the edge of the swimming pool, continued to record for another three hours.

The video was watched widely before it was pulled down from her page.

"As I was scrolling through my phone, I saw on social media a video clip of my daughter swimming before drowning, and everything went silent thereafter," Hellen's father John Nyabuto told The Standard in a previous interview.

Hellen relocated to Canada in December 2019 after securing a 10-year study visa.

"After completing her secondary education, she tried her hand at various small-scale businesses. Later, she participated in the green card lottery programme. That's when she secured her visa to Canada," said the grieving parent.

"Upon her relocation to Canada, I was hopeful that she'll get a job and help me educate her younger siblings. During our conversations, she'd tell me that life in Canada was good. Her nursing studies paid off as she got a part-time job," Nyabuto said.

He added that the deceased was assisting him financially to educate her siblings.

"She used part of her income to pay her tuition fee and also sent some to us," he said.