The young family of a Burnaby school district custodian is faced with the double burden of grief and financial stress after his death in a cycling accident this month.
Ronald Ordinario was struck and killed while cycling in Richmond on Nov. 5.
He leaves behind Nie-Ann, his wife, and three children, including a three-month-old baby girl.
Besides custodial work for the Burnaby school district, Odinario held down two other part time jobs and was a founding member of Migrante B.C., a Vancouver-based group that advocates for Filipino immigrants to B.C., running basketball and volleyball leagues.
Supporters have launched a Go Fund Me online crowd-funding campaign to help Nie-Ann, who is unable to work because of health problems related to child birth, deal with expenses.
“Ronald loved his wife and children very much and had high hopes and dreams for his children in Canada,” states the campaign page, set up by Manjeet Chana, a parent at the kids’ school and Adrianna Teoh, a community school programmer there. “When (his daughter) was born a few months ago, he was so happy and proud, and he felt his family was complete.”
As of Tuesday, the campaign had raised more than $13,500 in seven days.
“I feel blessed,” Nie-Ann told the NOW. “It’s very helpful for me. It’s really make a big difference because it will help me with daily expenses.”
For more information, visit www.gofundme.com/ronaldordinario.
