JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville family is turning heartbreak into action.
Friends and family gathered at Friendship Fountain for the second annual Swim for Rakim Walk, honoring a 3-year-old boy who drowned in a retention pond while on vacation in July 2024.
Rakim Akbari, who had autism, wandered away from a resort in Orlando and into a retention pond according to deputies. His aunts remembered the little boy with warmth and grief in equal measure.
“He was always energetic. He’s full of energy, always having us on our toes because he was always trying to climb any and everything,” said Stephanie Rodall, Rakim’s aunt.
“I miss his smile. I miss his laughter. I just miss him,” said Lechelle Rodall, another aunt of Rakim.
For the past two years, Rakim’s mother, Tarina Akbari, has made her son’s death her life’s mission. She says the retention pond where Rakim drowned had no barriers and she believes a fence could have saved him.
“We are more focused on pool drownings instead of retention pond drownings. The stats are so high it’s unbelievable,” she said.
According to the Florida Department of Children and Families, 119 children drowned in Florida in 2025, and close to 80% were under the age of 3. People with autism are also up to 160 times more likely to drown than their neurotypical peers.
Akbari says she has taken her advocacy for safety measures to local leaders and wants to bring education into classrooms early, especially for swim lessons.
“My goal is to bring people together, educating them,” she said. “Educate children on retention pond drownings so we can fence in these ponds.”
Those in attendance, composed of family, friends, and other supporters, worked to spread awareness as far and wide as possible. The plan is to hold more walks like this in the future.
“They say grief is love with nowhere to go, but as you can see, Rakim’s love is being spread everywhere and it’s making me smile. It’s making me have some joy,” Stephanie Rodall said.
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