What should have been a relaxed Monday afternoon turned into horror for the Dlamini family. This is after the family’s three-room shack burned to the ground with everything inside on November 16 at Magagula Heights.
The property owner, Busisiwa Dlamini, said she does not know what sparked the fire as she was home with her husband when a boy from the area warned that the backroom shack had caught fire.
Community members tried to put out the fire, but it already spread across all rooms and destroyed the furniture, clothes and all documents, including identity documents, birth certificates and school textbooks and equipment.
Dlamini said she was very stressed and heartbroken because she does not know how she would replace everything that was destroyed in the fire.
“My brother in-law was getting married the previous day and we had hired some equipment like chairs, tables, bowels, pots and dishes, I still don’t know how I am going to pay for all those things,” she explained.
“My child also lost his school uniform, he had to borrow school clothes and shoes so that he could finish writing his exams. I even got sick stressing about all the things that need to be replaced in the house as my children don’t even have beds and blankets.”
She recently lost a potential job opportunity after the company required original documents for her firearm licence.
“Now, I have to go back to the institution I studied at to make original copies, it obviously cannot be free, but I will try to get funds to make those original copies,” said Dlamini.
The family is asking for any form of donation to assist them to recover some of the valuables they lost during the fire outbreak. A community outreach programme called Kasie Outreach visited the family on November 30 to lend a helping hand.
Founder of Kasie Outreach Simphiwe Malunga said they are happy to have donated a few items to the distressed family.
“Thanks to those who donated, we managed to donate jugs, Tupperware’s, pre-loved clothes and shoes. We also encourage the community to try and lend a helping hand in every way possible,” said Malunga.
The ward councillor, Elvis Ngobe, donated a shack to the family on November 30.
“People can donate chairs, blankets, clothing, and even money to help the family replace some of the things they lost,” he added.
“It is very sad because the family had a wedding celebration the previous day and some of the things they lost to the fire were hired for the wedding,” said Ngobe.
To assist the Dlamini family, community members can contact Busiswa Dlamini on 078 129 8668.
WATCH: Busisiwa Dlamini plead for donations after she lost everything when her shack was destroyed by fire.
