Mother of Mekayla Bali holds walk for missing kids in Regina

Mekayla Bali’s family would be celebrating her 20th birthday in July.

The Yorkton teenager has now been missing for three years, disappearing from the local STC bus terminal. In the time since, her mother Paula Bali says Mekayla would have graduated from high school, started college and hit all kinds of milestones in life.

But instead, Bali wonders if her daughter is even still alive.

“That’s a really difficult question that you grapple with every single day. You can’t move forward until you know,” Bali said.

Family members used to call Mekayla “princess.” She was active in drama and music. Making homemade noodles was another one of her interests.

On Saturday, Bali held a gathering at Regina’s Wascana Park to draw attention to missing children in Saskatchewan. She said the biggest fear that parents have is their kids being forgotten, being reduced to a crime statistic.

About 25 people showed up, where there was food, face painting, entertainment and a children’s ID clinic. They also walked in solidarity to the Saskatchewan Science Centre.

Bali said they want the government to do more to prevent kids from going missing but also provide more help for affected families. Counselling is one area that could use more resources, in her experience.

“My own children, they experienced a lot of trauma from losing their sister and they definitely need a lot more resources on that end,” she said.