Boy who survived shack fire now fully recovered

Anyone willing to assist the boy with basic necessities including school uniform may contact Mzikayifani on 066 544 0009 or 072 648 2227.

May 14, 2021

Ntombikayise Sibeko 1 minute read

Seen here is Vuyo Ngidi who survived when his mother's shack in Ramaphosa burnt down while he and his sisters were inside.

The eight-year-old boy who managed to escape during a shack fire, which claimed the lives of his two sisters in Ramaphosa last year August, has fully recovered.

The eight-year-old Vuyo Ngidi is now living with his mother’s family in Pietermaritzburg.

This comes after Vuyo Ngidi and his two deceased sisters, Akhona and Angie, were left at home alone all night while their mother went out partying. Their 30-year-old mother apparently electrocuted herself after being called to the scene.

The Ngidi family from Pietermaritzburg have since February taken in Vuyi, following months of being admitted at Tambo Memorial Memorial Hospital for burn wounds.

Community leader Sonnyboy Senala next to the shack that caught fire on August last year, where two children burnt to death in Ramaphosa informal settlement.

According to Vuyo’s uncle, Mzikayfani, he was brought to Kwa-Zulu Natal by social workers from Gauteng.

“We are happy that he has fully recovered and that he’ll be staying with us permanently. He didn’t have any family members in Gauteng. Hence, we decided to take him in. “The first few weeks were hard for him because he would sometimes cry and say he misses his mother and his siblings. He would look at his aunts and say that their facial appearance resembles his mother,” he said.

Mzikayfani said he was planning to take Vuyo to her mother and sister’s gravesite so he can have closure because he didn’t have a chance to bid farewell to them.

“Vuyo has now gotten used to his new residence. He is a very strong and intelligent young man. He attends Grade One at Pella Primary School,” he said.

The uncle said his still facing challenges in regards to applying for Vuyo’s birth certificate so he can apply for a Sassa grant.

“Due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, we don’t have money to buy him school uniform and other basic necessities. Currently, he is going to school in his ordinary clothes. We appeal for public help” he said.

Anyone willing to assist the family may contact Mzikayfani on 066 544 0009 or 072 648 2227.