Family recalls ‘last supper’ with Sharon, Kenyan woman who drowned in Australia
What you need to know:
- Sharon Jepkosgei Kigen left Kenya on November 21, 2022
- Her family received news of her sudden death on February 21, 2023
- She was to start classes at Catholic University in North Sydney on February 23
- She drowned in River Georges Macquarie while swimming with friends, and her body was retrieved by emergency response officers
When Sharon Jepkosgei Kigen left Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on November 21, 2022, for Australia, where she was going to join a university, her Kimuchi village, Uasin Gishu county was expectant.
Nothing had prepared the quiet village in Moiben sub-county for the devastating news that would follow about their daughter, three months later — that their daughter was no more.
On February 21, 2023, exactly three months after Sharon left Kenya, a distress call would be made to her family in Moiben, breaking the news of Sharon’s sudden death while swimming.
Just three months earlier, on November 9, 2022, Kimuchi villagers had gathered for special thanksgiving and farewell prayers and a send-off party for Sharon, whose international doors had opened, signaling good things to come.
Family, friends, and neighbours converged for a mass to send off Sharon, who was heading to Catholic University in North Sydney for a post-graduate degree after securing an opportunity through Options Education, a study placement agency.
Some of the Kenyans in Australia gather at the spot where Sharon Jepkosgei drowned on February 21, while swimming with friends along River Georges Macquarie, Australia. She was to start her classes at Catholic University in North Sydney on February 23.
A lover of IT, Sharon, 28, who was a Kapsabet Girls alumna, secured a study scholarship for her Master’s degree in IT after graduating from Kenyatta University in 2020 in the same field.
To help with her travel, living, and part of the study expenses, her parents – Francis Kigen and Rael Chepkemboi — had sold a piece of land, proceeds that would be added to collections from a fundraiser that had been held to help manage the costs, raising some Sh2.5 million.
On November 21, 12 days after the special send-off prayers, the third-born child of the Kigens would board her flight at JKIA, to pursue her dreams thousands of miles away.
In high spirits
A video of her parents and two of her sisters who had accompanied her to Nairobi to see her off shows she was in high spirits. They had left their village on the evening of November 20 , for an overnight journey, to arrive at JKIA by 6am, in time for her 8:40am flight.
Born on July 26, 1995, it was her first international trip, and she was jovial — full of dreams for a better future.
She had made it clear that she would return home after her two-year studies to set up an IT firm, promising her neighbours that she would help them and their children upon her return.
In Australia, she settled in well with her relatives and even found a part-time job as she waited for her classes to start on February 23, her mother said. It was not to be. She died two days before that.
A section of River Georges Macquarie in Australia, where Sharon Jepkosgei Kigen drowned on February 21, exactly three months after she arrived in the foreign country. Her body was retrieved by emergency services officers who were called to the scene. Sharon's family is appealing for financial support to bring her body back home for burial.
Distress call
On February 21, 2023, exactly three months after Sharon left Kenya, a distress call would be made to Kenya, with the caller seeking to pass an urgent message to Sharon’s family in Moiben.
The message of Sharon’s demise was relayed through a doctor at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, who is also a relative. Sharon had died while swimming with friends on a beach.
The doctor located Sharon's grandfather, who hastened to her parents' home and broke the devastating news to her family.
Dealing with the news has not been easy for Sharon’s family.
“We are shocked that our daughter is no more,” Mr Kigen said at his Kimuchi home.
Some Kenyans living in Australia gather at the shores of River Georges Macquarie, where Sharon Jepkosgei Kigen drowned on February 21, exactly three months after she arrived in the foreign country. Her body was retrieved by emergency services officers who were called to the scene. Sharon's family is appealing for financial support to bring her body back home for burial.
Body retrieved
His daughter’s body was retrieved from River Georges Macquarie by emergency service officers who were called to the scene.
“Officers from The Traffic and Highway Patrol entered the water along with members of the public and commenced with a search in the water where the body was located and brought to the shoreline,” Australian NSW Police said in a statement.
Efforts by NSW Ambulance paramedics to resuscitate her were futile.
Constant touch
Her parents recall that their daughter had kept in constant touch with them since her arrival in Australia, talking on video calls almost daily.
Her mother said she was always jovial, updating her family on her progress.
She had updated her parents on her orientation before the classes that were scheduled to start on February 23. She had told them she would find time to continue working as she studied.
Rael Chepkemboi Kutto, the mother of the late Sharon Jepkosgei Kigen who drowned in Australia a week ago. The family is struggling to come to terms with her sudden demise, three months after she left home for further studies. The family has appealed for financial support to bring her body back home for burial.
According to her mother, Sharon had basic swimming skills learned in school.
“She was a very jovial girl. When she was leaving, we held a mass and called locals and the pastor to come and pray for her. She promised she would never forget relatives and neighbours. She was optimistic she would change her village,” her father said.
“We have been in constant communication. She called every morning to update us on what she was up to. She was determined to make it,” she said.
They last talked on Saturday, February 18, two days before the devastating news of her death was relayed to her family.
Some of the Kenyans in Australia gather at the spot where Sharon Jepkosgei drowned on February 21, while swimming with friends along River Georges Macquarie, Australia. She was to start her classes at Catholic University in North Sydney on February 23.
Bring the body home
Villagers have been gathering at her home to condole with the family, which is grappling with how to bring Sharon’s body back to Moiben.
They need Sh5 million, the family spokesperson Dominic Chepkok told the Nation team when we visited on Tuesday evening. A handful of mourners were gathered at her parent’s home.
“We had a big ceremony to send her off in November and she was jovial as always,” the family spokesman added.
Mourners condoling with Sharon Jepkosgei Kigen's family in Kimuchi village, Moiben sub-county, Uasin Gishu County on Tuesday February 28. She drowned on February 21 in an Australian river while swimming with friends, three months after arriving in the foreign country. The family is appealing for support to bring her body back home for burial.
Sh5 million
The family has not made much headway in raising the money and is appealing for financial support to bring Sharon’s body home, having exhausted their financial resources during her departure three months ago.
A fundraiser is planned for Sunday, March 5.
“Our prayer is that wellwishers come to our aid and help us bring Sharon’s body back home for burial,” her grandfather, Mr Koech, said.
The family has shared the fundraising Paybill number to help them bring Sharon’s body back home.
Paybill NO: 400200
Ac No: 40096824.
Leaders from Uasin Gishu county have also flocked the home to condole with the family.
The incident happened six months after another Kenyan student drowned in a foreign county while swimming. Hellen Nyabuto, a Kenyan nursing student working in Canada, died in a swimming pool.
