Before anything else: our hearts are with Drihanna Matamona's family. No words fix the loss of a child, and nothing here is meant to. This is simply an account of who she was, and how a community in Calgary came together for her.
On Tuesday night, dozens of people gathered at the edge of a pond in Calgary's Legacy community, candles in hand, to remember a little girl.
Drihanna Matamona drowned there on Sunday afternoon. She was seven. Her family organized the vigil, and the people who came, friends, neighbours, and some who had never met the family but couldn't stay away, stood with them at the water's edge as the light faded.
Her godmother and aunt said the outpouring from the community has been a source of comfort in a week that holds none of its own. Family remembered her as a bright and joyful girl.
"We could hear the memorial and build up a community so that they could be loved," one young attendee said.
Who Drihanna was
In their own words, her family has shared a little of who Drihanna was, and it's worth carrying here as they told it.
She was a bright seven-year-old, autistic and nonverbal, and, in her family's description, incredibly intelligent, expressive and full of life. She loved her family deeply. She had a 13-year-old big sister, Ashley, who her family says always did everything she could to keep her safe and happy, and a 10-month-old baby brother who is too young to understand the loss, but who will grow up knowing how much his sister loved him through the photos and videos the family holds onto. Her mother, Karina, had only recently gone back to work after maternity leave.
Her parents, Karina and Ulrich, both rushed to the pond that afternoon. Her father reached the water and, with others, did everything he could.
In the hours after her death on Sunday, the shore of the pond had already begun to fill with flowers, notes and small tributes left by residents who wanted the family to know they weren't grieving alone. Tuesday's vigil was that same impulse, gathered into one evening and one circle of light.
A second vigil is planned
Drihanna's family will hold a second candlelight vigil at the Legacy pond this Sunday at 5 p.m. All are welcome.
We covered Drihanna's death when it happened, along with the wider run of water deaths in Calgary's southeast and what makes these ponds so dangerous: https://www.culturealberta.com/articles/a-6-year-old-girl-has-drowned-in-a-calgary-pond-its-the-latest-in-a-devastating-run-of-water-deaths
How to support the family
Drihanna's family has set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs and household expenses as they grieve. The fundraiser is organized on behalf of her mother, Karina. You can find it here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-loving-memory-of-our-7-years-old-drihanna
For anyone struggling
Grief like this reaches well beyond the immediate family. If this news is weighing on you, or on your kids, free and confidential support is available through 211 Alberta, by phone, text or chat, any hour of the day.
Talking to children about a death like this is its own hard thing. The advice from grief specialists is plain and worth holding onto: be honest, use simple words, let them ask what they need to ask, and let them see that it's okay to be sad.
Sources:
Drihanna Matamona family GoFundMe, organized by Konyon Cash for Karina Massengo-kilolo
Culture Alberta, original coverage of the drowning, July 12, 2026
