After enduring a lengthy legal battle involving both the Canadian and South African governments, 10-year-old Ryleigh Ridland finally received a warm family embrace upon her arrival at Vancouver’s airport on Friday. The emotional reunion marked the end of a prolonged journey to Canada following the tragic loss of her mother in South Africa.

Expressing her excitement to be in Canada with her new family, Ryleigh recounted the challenges of waiting for this moment, which included experiencing her first plane rides and steps on Canadian soil. She and her great-aunt Lisa Pyne-Mercier, 53, embarked on their journey from Johannesburg to Vancouver via Paris, before heading home to Shawnigan Lake, B.C., located approximately 30 kilometers north of Victoria.

Ryleigh had been in foster care since her mother’s sudden passing in 2021. Found alone in extreme heat on a remote rural property near Tzaneen, South Africa, Ryleigh, then seven years old, had miraculously survived for at least eight days after her mother’s death from natural causes, including malaria, dehydration, and malnutrition.

Pyne-Mercier, who hails from South Africa herself, fought tirelessly for four years to bring Ryleigh to Canada. Despite being confirmed as the child’s legal guardian by a South African High Court in June 2022, Pyne-Mercier encountered numerous administrative obstacles in the process. These challenges stemmed from factors such as Ryleigh’s father residing in South Africa and her mother naming Pyne-Mercier as the guardian in her will, which deviated from the typical family adoption arrangements.