CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS — Bazirake Kayira’s children, Salmon, Gift, Jeremie, Sembo and Innocent. Kayira died in a car accident on Friday, Dec. 31. on his way to work. The children’s mother, Zabayo Bigirmaya passed away after an emergency cesarean section four months ago. The children are now in the care of their grandparents, Regina Nyanzira and Katwire Mwesigire.

DES MOINES — A tragic accident that occurred on New Year’s Eve in Marshall County left five refugee children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to live as orphans. The oldest child is 10, while the youngest is only 4 months old.

Bazirake Kayira, the father of the children, was driving to work when the accident occurred on Highway 330 last Friday afternoon. First responders administered first aid and transferred Kayira to the UnityPoint Hospital in Marshalltown, where he was pronounced dead. Zabayo Bigirmaya, Kayira’s wife, died after an emergency cesarean section during childbirth just four months before.

The couple and their family immigrated to the United States three years ago and ended up setting down roots in Des Moines two years ago. Pastor Eugene Kiruhura, of the Shalom Covenant Church — the church the family has been attending for the last year — was devastated by the news of Kayira’s death, as he had helped Kayira and his children in any way he could after Bigirmaya’s sudden passing.

“My heart was breaking. My heart was very sad and heavy with sorrow and mourning,” Kiruhura said. “I had been with the family, and the kids were crying because they lost their mother and lost their father. They didn’t know what they were going to do.”

The children are currently with their grandparents, Regina Nyanzira and Katwire Mwesigire. While they were able to stay with their family, even this has presented difficulties, as Nyanzira and Mwesigire are not young and have health issues. They do not speak English, and they do not have an income at this time. Aside from these problems, their place of residence is also quite small for the number of people now living together with only three bedrooms.

Zabayo Bigirmaya passed away four months ago after an emergency cesarean section, leaving behind five children and her husband, Bazirake Kayira.

Because of this, Kiruhura and the members of the church are working tirelessly to find a place for them to live together, and they are working hard to raise money to cover the family’s various needs. Kiruhura started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the costs of Kayira’s funeral, and at this time, it hasn’t been decided if a portion of this money will go towards purchasing a house for them to live in or not. Regardless, it will all go towards supporting the mourning family.

“Five kids with no parents, no income–it’s hard. So, that’s why we’re asking the people in the community to support them,” Kiruhura said.

The GoFundMe page has a fundraising goal of $200,000, and significant progress has already been made in hitting it in just a few short days. By Tuesday afternoon, that number had surpassed $180,000.

Alas, there is still a way to go. Kiruhura asks that anyone who can spare a donation to either donate to the GoFundMe page at the following link https://www.gofundme.com. Search “Funeral expenses and support for the children” or send a check with the memo “Helping Five Kids” to Shalom Covenant Church located at 7605 Aurora Ave, Urbandale, IA, 50322.

“We thank the people who have been stepping up,” Kiruhura said.

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Contact Susanna Meyer at 641-753-6611 or smeyer@timesrepublican.com.