On June 23, a hot summer day, Kingston High School graduate, basketball star, Utica College freshman, son, brother, and friend to many Chris Bamba, 18, drowned tragically in a watering hole in High Falls.
His tight-knit family and community were devastated, feeling powerless as people do in the wake of such an extraordinary loss.
Several of his friends decided to make and sell bracelets to honor him and help raise funds they’ve dedicated to the Kingston YMCA. The result is the Christopher Bamba Community Swimming Education Fund, which will help provide swimming instruction for those in the community who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford it.
According to YMCA of Kingston and Ulster County president Heidi Kirschner, Bamba spent much of his time at the Y training, lifting, playing basketball, and growing into the young man that so many people loved.
“He and his brother [Damien] are two of the nicest, most polite and kind young men you could ever meet,” said Kirschner. “They had moved up here about five years ago because their mom wanted to raise them away from some of the negative influences in the city. Chris was a total Y-kid. He got involved with the Y Boys and Girls Club, and played basketball here all the time after school with his friends. He became a real basketball star at KHS and then went on to play in college.”
“He just had this great energy about him,” remembered Rhoan Johnson, a trainer and owner of Lionheart Basketball in Kingston. “It was a pleasure to be around him because he always made you laugh or smile and he was so athletic. He worked hard and he was determined.”
Despite his athleticism and time spent at the Y, Bamba never learned to swim.
“That’s why we wanted to give the money to the Y so that anyone who needed swim lessons, whether they’re an adult or a child, can afford to take them,” said Alexia Diers, 17, a close friend of Bamba’s who is now a student athlete at Dexter Preparatory School in New Hampshire. She said $700 has been raised through the sale of the bracelets.
“I don’t want what happened to Chris to happen again if we can do anything to prevent it,” she said. “We thought about the fact that he didn’t know how to swim even though he was this incredible athlete and that made me reach out to the Y and get introduced to Heidi, who was a huge help in making this scholarship fund happen. Chris was like an older brother to me. He made it so you felt like you fit in anywhere, and he was just the light when you were sad, you know? We always joked with each other as to who was the GOAT (greatest of all time.) Really, he was and always will be the GOAT.”
Kirschner said many who don’t learn to swim as children never acquire the skill.
“I see this too often where kids get to a certain age, and they’re embarrassed to tell people that they don’t know how to swim,” she said. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. We teach thousands of children and adults every year how to swim, and just because you didn’t have the opportunity to learn as a child does not mean you can’t learn as a teenager or an adult. We give adult swim lessons all the time. I always say, ‘it wasn’t your time to learn to swim yet. Now it is.’”
Chris didn’t know how to swim and he always tried to stay away from water, said Johnson. “He never went in pools or anything. But at some point, when it’s hot, you tend to go towards water. That’s why we wanted to provide money from the bracelets to the Y so that children and adults could learn how to swim and this money would help them afford it. I don’t know how to swim either. A lot of people don’t.”
Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death in children. According to the American Red Cross, Black and Latino children are five times more likely to drown then their white counterparts. The Red Cross also notes that 79 percent of children and adults who are living at or below the poverty line do not know how to swim.
“This is a great way to honor Chris and to ensure his spirit carries onward,” said Kirschner. “The YMCA is deeply grateful to Alexia, Rhoan and Brian for everything they have done, and we are very happy to share the gift of swim lessons with those in need in memory of Chris. Our community still feels such deep sadness from Chris’s loss.”
The YMCA pool has helped hundreds of children and adults throughout Ulster County learn how to swim, become certified lifeguards and even competitive swimmers. That pool is now in the midst of a $2-million renovation, with work being done on the decking, plumbing, filtration and drainage systems. The work is slated to be done and the pool reopened to the public by November.
For more information on how to sign yourself a child or friend or family member up for swim lessons and/or to utilize or donate to the Chris Bamba Community Education Fund please contact Naisha Scott at the YMCA of Kingston and Ulster County at 338-3810 or nscott@ymcaulster.org.
Join the family! 
