Her dreams burnt in flames
Following a devastating fire that burnt her house to the ground, every day is a struggle for Nana Lizbeth Machaba (68) from Blood River.
POLOKWANE – Last week her two-roomed house and all her possessions were burned to ashes with Machaba managing to escape with just the clothes on her back.
“I live alone and I was busy with chores around the house when I noticed smoke. When I went to investigate I noticed the flames and subsequently fled the house. Due to the intensity of the fire I was unable to save any of my possessions, the fire tore through the house too fast. I tried to extinguish the fire with the assistance of the community until the fire brigade arrived. They extinguished the fire but unfortunately all my possessions had already been destroyed. I lost everything in the fire and I am uncertain what will become of me as I scrape a living recycling plastic bottles,” she said.
She explained the whole incident still felt unreal.
“Only when the community left the house to carry on with their daily activities did the reality hit me. With the loss of all my possessions and food I make use of an open fire to cook my meals, which is difficult when it rains and I sleep on the ground.”
Ward 10 Councillor, Evan Mothapo, said they were troubled and saddened to hear the devastating news about what happened with Machaba.
“We are assisting Machaba to build an RDP house, which will hopefully be completed quickly. As a councillor I am very concerned about her situation which is why we are trying to expedite the building of a RDP house,” Mothapo said.
