A Phoenix family of eleven is seeking assistance to rebuild their lives in the wake of a devastating fire that completely damaged their Brookdale home in August this year.
The fire devastated the family, destroying their entire property and all belongings, forcing them to move out of the house. Recounting the events on that fateful day, Xolisile Sikhakhane said, “We were at home in the afternoon when the fire started on 21 August, in fact we didn’t even know that the house was on fire until our neighbour informed us about a fire in my aunt’s room. When we opened the door to the room, the flames were already huge, making it difficult for us to grab any personal belongings. We tried using water to put the fire out, but all our attempts failed and we had to exit the house immediately to avoid any injuries.”
“We watched as our home went up in flames while waiting for the fire department to arrive. The fire was eventually extinguished after the fire department worked on putting it out for a while. We lost everything, the fire caused major structural damages to our home including the entire roofing, windows, doors, furniture, curtains and our clothing. Three rooms, the kitchen, bathroom and dining room were completely burned. My baby sister was having a bath when the fire started and was forced to run outside without any clothes on due to the inferno – my neighbour had to use her daughter’s clothes on her.”
Sikhakhane added that due to the extent of the damages caused by the fire, their home was unoccupiable, “We are currently occupying someone’s residence but we cannot live there forever. We are grateful to Musa Myeni for opening her heart and giving us a place to stay for a while although our time there is limited due to her family who will come home during the festive season. We are also grateful for all the essentials we received from kind sponsors after the fire but our biggest wish is to get help to rebuild our home so we can once again have a roof over our heads without having to stress. It hurts us so much to lose our home and not being able to recover from this due to finances is really heartbreaking,” said Sikhakhane.
“Our little siblings still have nightmares about what happened, their grades have dropped and they are having a hard time focussing at school. They are not used to this sudden change and way of living and we really just want to start afresh and put this devastating experience behind us. We have exhausted all avenues trying to get help and are now humbly asking for assistance from the community and good samaritans out there to help us rebuild our lives. We are desperate to have our home back and will be so grateful for any help we receive,” added Sikhakhane.
The family is appealing for assistance with roofing, tiling, windows, walls, furniture, appliances and clothing. For more information on how you can lend a helping hand contact Xolisile Sikhakhane on 073 415 5691 or Busisiwe Gina on 072 952 1384.
