SAN ANTONIO — Suffering is like an assignment for Zuwena Maua's family. Her grandparents are her caretakers and guardians. Their pain is generational.
"She is a very strong fighter. But a strong fighter always needs help as well," Zawadi Bidance said.
Zawadi translates for his father Bidance Rusaraza, and mother, Meriana Bahati. The couple speaks multiple African languages. English is easier to understand than for them to speak. They shared their grandgirl's account in Swahili.
Before coming to America, they remember of life of murderous pain. Both of their parents got killed. Rusaraza recalls fleeing Burundi to the Democratic Republic of Congo into more turmoil.
The 68-year-old patriarch remembers taking his family to Tanzania. His 10-year-old son got killed at school over cultural differences. The painful incident provided a pathway through the United Nations to come to San Antonio in 2011.
"She went from a little girl running around – being all jolly and happy and everything," Zawadi said.
Rusaraza and his wife went to church to thank God for the promise of peace in America. It would be a short-lived moment of glee.
"The first time I was going to church in the United States, my little granddaughter decided to go swimming with other kids – without knowing how it is to swim," Rusaraza said.
Zuwena was five. Zawadi was eight. He was at their apartment complex swimming pool on Gardendale when Zuwena wandered into the pool with the rest of the children.
"We didn't really know about like there's such thing as with swimming pools," Zawadi said. "Like where kids can go swimming in."
According to Zawadi, they were familiar with using rivers, lakes, and the ocean differently. But their water experience did not include swimming. Zuwena sank in the deep end of the pool.
"I ended up realizing what was going on when my little niece wasn't getting up," he said.
The water's damage to her body gave doctors little hope.
"She's not gonna last that long because the water is like overtaking her body," Zawadi said. "She wasn't strong enough at the point."
Zuwena survived. But she laid in a coma for eight months.
Statistics from the National Drowning Prevention Alliance show 3,500-4,000 drownings happen in the United States each year. Accidental injury deaths like drowning are the leading cause of fatalities for children between the ages of one and four.
Due to the accidental nature of her near-drowning, Child Protective Services stepped in.
"Nobody can know how they suffered trying to get my niece back," Zawadi said.
A deep language barrier and American laws surrounding children added confusion to conflict for the family. Zuwena's condition did not improve as Rusaraza, and his wife tried to prove their worth to the state of Texas.
"Just give her back to me. I'd rather go back to my country and suffer as long as I'm together with my family," he said.
The couple recalled praying in their grandchild's room and singing by her bedside. Then, one day Zuwena woke up. But her brain damage was significant.
"When Zuwena came from the hospital... Zuwena couldn't use the restroom. Zuwena couldn't walk," Zawadi said. "She couldn't talk. She couldn't eat by herself."
The fingers on her hand clutched down. She required intense physical therapy and around-the-clock attention.
Rusaraza is disabled. His wife couldn't maintain a job and tend to her granddaughter. The couple leaned on churches, prayers, and faith for help to survive.
The state provided support too. That secured a mortgage on a home for the family as Zuwena fought to regain her life.
"One day, she just grabbed onto the side of the railing (inside the house) and started to get up herself," Zawadi said.
He said she fell. It was the beginning of more tangible signs of recovery.
At 15 years old, Zuwena is a special needs student at Edgewood ISD's Memorial High School.
She can walk but requires some assistance. The teen still can't eat solid foods. Her family said she's even trying to talk.
"She's learning my name. So, she can say that for a fact," Zawadi said.
The family still needs a financial boost, clothing, and diaper donations for Zuwena through Eagles Flight Advocacy & Outreach. The non-profit takes in the help that's been critical to Zuwena's well-being.
The teen's name, according to her family, means 'Gleaming flower.' She represents a miraculous blossom of hope for a girl many wrote off as dead.
"One of my dad's friends even came with a coffin talking about I got the money for a coffin," Zawadi said. "But it was God. God came through."