Siblings' drowning deaths in Dryden, Ont., prompt calls for school swimming lessons
On July 31, 15-year-old Kayden Grant and his 12-year-old sister, Joyclyn Grant, drowned in the Wabigoon River in the northwestern Ontario city.
The family says Joyclyn fell into the river and didn't know how to swim. Her brother went in to try to save her, but wasn't a strong enough swimmer.
"I absolutely felt like I was drowning, to be perfectly honest. I couldn't breathe. I felt underwater, overwhelmed, like I just couldn't get enough air," said their grandmother, Elva Reid, an Anishinaabe woman from Treaty 3 territory.
Reid's 10-year-old niece was also there and used Facebook messenger to contact her mother for help. She tried holding out a branch for Kayden and Joyclyn to grab, but the current was too strong.
"She did everything she [could]. More than a 10-year-old could ever be expected to do," said Reid.
The community has rallied around the family, with the Dryden Community Funeral Home covering the celebration of life costs and a crowdfunding effort that's raised more than $4,600 so far.
Now, the family is looking to launch a foundation, to be called Water Wings, in Kayden and Joyclyn's memory.
Reid said she wants "to raise the funds so that all school-aged children have enough water safety knowledge by the age of 10 that should anything happen, they know what to do."
The family is also petitioning Premier Doug Ford to put swimming lessons back into the elementary school curriculum.
CBC News has reached out to the Ministry of Education for comment and is awaiting a response.
'Water is real and unforgiving'
Joyclyn and Kayden only recently moved to the region and were unfamiliar with the area. But Reid, as an Anishinaabe person and former synchronized swimmer, says she grew up around the water.
While children in southern Ontario have easier access to pools, she says those in the northwest must be taught about the waters that surround them.
"You've got to understand the differences between a body of water like a lake and a river," Reid said. "Water is real and unforgiving."
"How many other teenage children between the ages of 12 and 18 cannot swim and do not understand the actual dangers?"
Daniel Dubois-Blair, a father of three and owner of Turbo's Towing and Recovery in Dryden, says when he learned the news of the children's deaths, "it broke my heart."
Since hearing about the family's plans to start a foundation, he's offered to help pay for swimming lessons for those in the community who cannot afford them.
"It's not something that everybody's got an opportunity for," Dubois-Blair said.
"I think it's something that everybody deserves."
Fewer than 7,400 people live in Dryden. The city's mayor, Jack Harrison, earlier expressed his condolences to the Grant family and thanked police, fire, and other emergency personnel involved in the response.
"Words are never enough in moments like these, but please know that the hearts of every resident in our community are with you. We mourn together, and we stand beside you during this unimaginable time," Harrison said.
The family is grateful for the community's outpouring of support, said Reid.
Joyclyn is described on the crowdfunding pages as "the type of girl that could walk into a room and light it up with her smile."
"She was always silly, loved to joke and laugh, and was obsessed with Stitch. Her favourite saying was, 'Ohana means family, and family never gets left behind.' Our world seems a little darker without her bright light," it says.
As for Kayden, he was more of an introvert, "but when he would create friendships, they were bonds that were unbreakable.'
"He loved learning about science, dinosaurs, sharks, fossils, and loved his video games. But most of all, he loved his little sister."
The Water Wings Foundation can be reached at waterwingsfoundation1013@gmail.com.
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