BARRYVILLE, NY — Kia Williams, beloved community member, owner of Kia’s Kitchen, a former officer with the NYPD and much more, died unexpectedly in Ghana while on vacation with her husband, Desmond Agyeman-Duah, and her six-year-old son Versaille (Sai). She was 30 years old.

The challenge now—and the object of a fundraiser on GoFundMe—is to bring them all home.

“Never in a million years did we think we would never talk to our sister/daughter again,” wrote Quiyanna Terry on the GoFundMe page. She created the fundraiser.

In Sullivan County, Kia was the Wednesday moderator of the Sullivan County Mamas community account on Instagram.

“Kia had just been married and was spending the summer in Accra, Ghana with her son and new husband, with plans to return to Barryville in the fall,” Sullivan County Mamas founder Jess Lewis wrote in an email to the River Reporter. “She had just found out she was blessed and pregnant with twins.”

Lewis said the cause of Kia’s death was not yet known.

The fundraiser will help cover the medical fees and travel costs of bringing Kia’s son and her body home, as well as legal fees.

“The reality of Ghana vaccination protocols and last-minute connecting flight costs are forecasting a much longer timeline than what is safe or reasonable, given Sai is only six years old and currently without a legal guardian in Ghana,” Lewis said.

As of this writing, it looks as though Versaille will be home soon, but more needs to be done. Kia’s remains need to be flown back to the U.S., and her husband Desmond needs an emergency visa, Lewis said. 

A fundraiser car wash is planned for Sunday, June 11 from 12 noon to 3 p.m., at the Barryville General Store and at the car wash across the street. 

The car wash is sponsored by the Barryville Community Church and the Barryville General Store.

To help get the family through this tragedy, visit the GoFundMe page at www.bit.ly/3IU7np3.