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Fire leaves Etwatwa family stranded

On March 22, an unforgiving fire engulfed all the assets of the Moyo family who lives in Etwatwa at Mandela.

In the absence of adult supervision, two boys at the age of 14 and 11 years old respectively and an 8-year-old girl were playing in the living room as usual. The young girl left the boys in the living room and went to the bedroom where the fire began, supposedly she was twiddling with a lighter which is suspected to have been the instrument to the genesis of the fire.

According to eyewitness Josephine Mabena, the smoke had cloaked the whole house when the children came out screaming for help. She said one of the boys told her that their bedroom was on fire, as they attempted to extinguish it with water. Heeding her advice they did not go back into the house, letting the fire feed upon all the assets of the Moyo family.

During the commotion and pandemonium of the neighbours and community members, the 14-year-old boy managed to call his brother Reuben who was near the fire station when the incident took place. “I quickly ran to the fire station and told the fire brigades that our home was on fire,” he said.

Accompanied by the fire brigades, Ruben arrived at the scene. They tried saving some of their belongings but all they could get out of the fire were charred remains of their furniture. Eventually, the fire was extinguished however the Moyo family had been robbed of their shelter that day due to the incident.

“I am shaken by this incident because on some days I experience unusual body aches and insomnia,” explained Rueben, on the extent and depth of their trauma due to the calamity that has befallen them.

The City council has been having meetings with the Moyo family to assist them in terms of shelter and donations, however, it would require a lot of empathy and humanity from the community to help the family get back on their feet. To restore their livelihoods they have requested donations from the community at large, if you wish to donate something to the family please contact the family at 0624979879.

By Rhulani Fundzama

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