Tragic Loss of a Young Life - Elijah, Toronto

January and February are the coldest months of the year in Canada.

The Canadian winter is long and cold. But this year, it has been exceptional.

Since we entered into February, we have not had a break from this frigid temperature as each day has been hovering around minus 15 C.

With the Arctic wind blowing and howling, when factoring in the wind chill factor, it has been around the minus 25 - 30 C continuously for the past two weeks. We have had a few extreme cold alerts this winter warning the homeless to seek shelter inside government and charitable agencies.

It was cold the evening when we drove to my sister's house for the New Year Eve's dinner. When we woke up in the morning the next day, we were told that it was the coldest night this winter.

We awoke to a piece of news reported on the radio that shocked and worried us - a three year old boy was missing from his family's apartment in the middle of the night. The police and volunteers were conducting a massive search for him. Aware of the extreme cold temperature, the police took this missing case seriously and responded swiftly.

We held our breath and crossed our fingers for this little boy.

Later in the afternoon, the tragic news broke. After a six hour search by hundreds of police officers and volunteers in the neighbourhood of where Elijah the missing boy, lived, they found him without vital signs and rushed him to the hospital.

Sadly, Elijah, died from the exposure. We were haunted by the TV images captured by the building's security camera - Elijah, wearing his boots, a diaper and a shirt only, standing alone in the lobby. Somehow, the little three year old got out of his family's apartment around 4a.m., went downstairs to the lobby where no one was around, and got out of the building with the door shut behind him. He wondered for a couple of blocks away from his apartment building.

Elijah's death saddened us all. We are pained by his family's loss. The radio this morning talked about what families could do in order to prevent such tragic events happening again in the future. The Canadian winter is harsh and cruel; it can be fatal to the ones who are stranded / lost outside or the vulnerable ones.
This death is the third fatal incidents reported this past two weeks due to the extreme cold temperatures we have been experiencing.

This tragic loss of life has touched the heart of many in Toronto. Using the crowd funding approach, a gentleman named Justin Kozuch aimed to raise $20,000.00 for the victim's family to cover the funeral cost. With days, Justin was able to raised more than $170,000.00, exceeding his goal. The extra money is going to a trust fund to help other needy people.


This is a heart warming story resulted from a tragedy. Toronto, you are awesome!!! 

R.T.
Toronto