Well-wishers came out in large numbers on Wednesday, February 22 in support of the family of a Kenyan student who drowned at Simmos Beach Macquarie fields in Australia.
This is after the family of Sharon Jepkosgei Kigen, a student who drowned just three months after arriving in Australia to enrol as an international student at the Australian Catholic University – North Sydney, started a Go Fund Me page to raise funds to repatriate her body back home.
The 28-year-old arrived in Australia in November 2022 but her trip to the beach in February turned tragic after she drowned.
Earlier reports indicated that efforts from the emergency team to resuscitate her failed.
Her body was thereafter taken to Lidcombe hospital as Cumberland police continued with the investigations into her demise.
Parents and relatives at home were effectively informed and Kenyans in Australia started holding meetings for prayers and financial support.
The first outcome of the meeting was the establishment of a Go Fund Me page to help raise KSh2.5 million ($20,000) towards the repatriation of Jepkosgei’s remains back to Kenya.
“It is with great sorrow to announce the death of Sharon Jepkosgei Kigen who drowned at Simmos Beach Macquarie fields,”
“Family and friends are fund-raising to enable the body of late Sharon to be repatriated to Kenya,” the Go Fund Me page started by Tabitha Chepkwony, another Kenyan in Australia reads.
In a show of solidarity with the family, 23 donations were made in less than two hours with the donors managing to raise over Ksh156,000 ($1,241) in less than 2 hours.
However, about Ksh100,000 ($793) of the donations were made in a record 10 minutes of the fundraising.
Family and friends continue to meet at 54a Elliston Street Chesterhill NSW 2162 in Australia as arrangements to ferry her remains back to Kenya continue.
This is the second incident in less than six months of a Kenyan drowning abroad.
In September 2022, a Kenyan nurse drowned in a swimming pool in Canada while recording herself live on Facebook.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE