Heartbroken mother urges swim safety a year after son drowned at Brookline party
CAMBRIDGE - For Sipho Mangcu of Cambridge, Memorial Day weekend will never again mark the unofficial start to summer. "It's something I walk around with every single second of my life," she said.
It will always be the anniversary of the worst day; It marks the start of her life without her beautiful boy.
"I have no bath time anymore. I have nobody calling me. I have no drop offs and pick-ups. Stuff that I love doing. It's like I'm literally walking around naked. That's how exposed I've felt," the mother said sadly.
One year ago, her playful, precious Biko drowned during a gathering at a home in Brookline. He was only 4-years-old; his swimming lessons had been interrupted by the pandemic.
"We talked about the topic while sitting there, six adults by the pool. We are so on it. We know all the things. It takes a second. Don't look away. It still happened," she recalled, of the afternoon she lost her son.
Governor Maura Healey announced Thursday more than $370,000 to provide free beginner swim lessons to Massachusetts residents of all ages. Drowning is the leading cause of death for young children, but anyone can drown.
"A lot of people think what they see in the movies - the thrashing the splashing the calling for help, the yelling. That's not the case. It is so silent, so quick. In the time it takes to look down to check a text, something catastrophic is already happening," said Kelly Barker, who is the director of Association Aquatics at the West Suburban YMCA.
The following organizations were awarded SWIM funding:
Boys and Girls Club of Stoneham;
Boys and Girls Club of Metro South;
Charles River Aquatics, Inc. in Wellesley;
British Swim School of Worcester;
Hockamock area YMCA in Franklin;
Merrimack Valley YMCA in Lawrence;
MetroWest YMCA in Framingham;
Old Colony YMCA in Quincy;
British Swim School of North Shore in Reading;
West Suburban YMCA in Newton;
YMCA of Greater Boston;
YMCA of Metro North in Peabody;
YMCA of the North Shore in Beverly; and
YWCA Central Massachusetts Inc. in Worcester.
It's encouraging for this grieving mother, who feels consumed by a mission to honor her son by helping others swim safely.
"You want to do something. How do I turn this pain into purpose? I would do anything to get him back. I can save another kid," Mangcu said.