6-year-old boy drowns in Berbice water-filled excavation

… “you got to watch your children every second” – grieving mother advices parents

A six-year-old boy is now dead after he drowned in a water-filled excavation pit at Glasgow Housing Scheme, East Bank Berbice (EBB) on Sunday afternoon. Dead is six-year-old Kayden Busey, a former student of All Saints Primary School.

His grieving mother, Gaynor Paul said she has been replaying the events leading up to the death of her son, wondering whether the outcome would have been different had she been able to follow her usual routine of constantly checking on her children. The grieving mother said she had done a detox earlier and subsequently became weak and unwell. “I end up feeling sick. So I decided to lie down. I do the detox early, about 9 o’clock time,” she recalled. According to Paul, after resting for some time, she later awoke and checked on her children. She said they were all at home and playing in the yard. She explained that a friend later visited, and the children were still nearby and she sent the older children to purchase beverages and they returned. However, a short while later, a neighbour alerted her that a child was missing while playing at the Sideline Dam and persons were looking for the child. At the time, the mother of eight said she still did not know that it was her son the persons were searching for. When she arrived at the area, several persons had already gathered and a search was underway in the water-filled excavation. She said that it was then she was informed that the missing child might be her son.
She said she left and went home to verify if he was at home and it was then she realised that her son, Kayden was missing. According to she immedicably contacted relatives and returned to the area as the search continued. The water-filled excavation where the child drowned is approximately 60 feet long, 20 feet wide and eight feet deep. According to reports, Kayden was among a group of children who went to the excavation area to play. The group included two 13-year-old girls, an eight-year-old boy and a four-year-old boy. The two youngest are siblings of the now-dead six-year-old. The children were reportedly in the water playing when the six-year-old entered and encountered difficulties.
After her six-year-old son went in and did not resurface, his eight-year-old brother plugged in but found himself drifting and so he made his way out of the water. They then called on persons in the area for help.

Warned
Paul said she had repeatedly warned her children about going near the area.
“I always tell him about the back there. I tell him about the back there. Every day I tell him about it,” she said. “I blame myself because I used the detox. If I didn’t use the detox, I would call them all day,” she said. Fighting back tears, Paul said her children are the reason she works hard, adding that she had made changes in her life to allow herself more time at home with them. “I just work hard for them…I strive for the home now, for spending time with them,” she said. She explained that while she previously spent a lot of time working, she had recently decided to slow down so she could spend more time with her children. “I used to work so hard. As I work at the school, I say, man, let me stay home and spend time with my children,” the grieving mother related.

Remain vigilant
Family members described Kayden as an energetic child who brought joy to those around him. Paul said that while she accepts that the tragedy cannot be changed, she continues to replay the events of the day and the moments when she last saw her son alive. Now faced with the painful loss of her son, Paul is urging other parents to remain vigilant, noting that children can sometimes ignore warnings despite repeated advice. “When you have children, you got to watch your children every second,” she said. Kayden’s body was recovered from the water-filled excavation later on Sunday.