'She was a sweet and lovely girl': Child who drowned in Legacy pond will be dearly missed, says family

Drihanna Matamona had a cheerful demeanour and her smile was filled with so much life, her aunt said

A family is grieving the loss of a young child who drowned in a storm pond in the southeast community of Legacy on Sunday, but is thanking Calgary for its unwavering support during a difficult time in their lives — and is extending an invitation to share their thoughts and prayers on the weekend. Seven-year-old Drihanna Matamona was well loved by her family, said her godmother, Ninon Ignoumba. Although she was non-verbal autistic, she was very smart and would use a talking device to communicate with her family when she needed anything.

“She would come and grab your hands to bring you, to show you what she wanted, and she was a very sweet and lovely girl,” Ignoumba said. “You feel her presence when you are inside the house, because she’s always a busy girl, and she makes her little brother laugh and plays with him, even though she couldn’t speak.” She had a cheerful demeanour and her smile was filled with so much life, Drihanna’s aunt Gloria Massengo said.

She is missed by her entire family and their home feels so empty following her loss, she said. Revival efforts unsuccessful What took place on Sunday was an unfortunate accident, Ignoumba said. Their home is equipped with multiple safety devices and alerts everyone in the house when a door is opened.

While her father went out of the house to their car, Drihanna left the home unnoticed and ran towards the pond. “After the dad noticed she wasn’t there, he went straight there and then went into the pond to pull her out of the water,” Ignoumba said. Drihanna’s mother heard about what transpired and rushed home from work.

After she was brought to shore, bystanders began administering CPR until emergency crews arrived on scene, the Calgary Fire Department said in a Monday update. She was estimated to be underwater for around 20 minutes, and was unable to be resuscitated despite their best efforts. She was pronounced deceased at the scene.

A GoFundMe was created to support the family , raising more than $15,000 to support funeral costs and expenses while they are out of work. Related Drowning incident at Mahogany Beach claims life of 12-year-old newcomer from Ghana Nieman: What we can do to better prevent drowning deaths among children Family to host candlelight vigil The family is grateful for the thoughts, prayers and messages from the community, Massengo said.

“When we go into the pond, a lot of people who don’t even know us are leaving flowers and positive notes,” Massengo said. “It just makes our hearts better, because there’s people here who actually care about the situation. We appreciate everyone who is coming for us and just supporting us financially and especially emotionally with all the prayers that we’ve been getting.”

On Sunday, the family will host a candlelight vigil at the pond, which is located along 200 Legacy Main St. S.E. People are invited to leave flowers, teddy bears and show their support, but the family asked attendees to consider bringing plastic candles for the vigil. A public funeral for Drihanna is planned for next weekend. The family said they appreciate all the support from neighbours and community members who are supporting them during this time, but ask for people to be respectful of the family while they grieve, Massengo said.

They hope the city can put up fencing around the pond to prevent future accidents from taking place, since it is right next to a playground. “It can save other kids’ lives, because we found it’s unsafe, not only because Drihanna was autistic and nonverbal, but it can happen to any child,” Ignoumba said. “What we are going through right now, we don’t want any family to go through that.”

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