Mother speaks out after fire

Residents are still trying to pick up the pieces after a fire gutted the Dukathole and Kambongwa buildings in Jeppestown on September 29.

The EXPRESS re-visited the area on Tuesday last week, just one week after the devastating fires erupted.

Mother of two, 38-year-old Ncamsile Zwane is trying to piece together her life.

She lost everything she had in the fire.

Born in KwaZulu-Natal, Ncamisile moved to Johannesburg looking for a better life, for her and her family.

“I studied at the University of Qwaqwa and I came to Joburg to look for a job, but because I didn’t have a license or experience, I could not find the job I studied for,” said Ncamisile.

With a Bachelors degree in office administration in her hands, she said finding a job has been difficult.

Ncamisile has lived in the building for seven years and says life has been hard.

“I started living in the building in 2008 with my cousin. When I came here I was looking for a job. I eventually did find a job and worked for four years. I lost my job in 2012 when I had to go back home to look after my sick mother who has since died,” said Ncamisile.

Life for the mother of two has been difficult.

Since spending time caring for her dying mother, she was unable to find a permanent job.

“I’m currently making a living by doing odd jobs. I really wish I could go back home but at the same time, I don’t have the money to go back. Going back home will not make a difference because there is no one who is working there either.

“I’m the eldest and will have to provide, so Joburg is better than home because here you can do odd jobs to survive while looking for a better job,” said Ncamisele.

She said it is difficult for her, as she has two children.

Since the fire, Ncamisele depends on hand-outs to care for three-month-old Mlondolozi, which means “keeper”, and five-year-old Tinashe.

“I am now homeless and I have to roam the streets with my two children to pass time until nightfall.

“We can only go to where we sleep after 5pm. It is too hot during the day to be roaming the streets with two children. Mlondolozi even caught a fever from the heat but there is nothing else I can do,” said Ncamisile.

She is one of the many residents who were affected by the fire.

Even though she did not live in the main building, Dukathole, in which the evictions took place, the building in which she lived also caught fire.

Residents of the two buildings have since tried to find temporary shelter.

According to Ncamisile, there has been no assistance from the government, only private organisations that have provided the residents with basic requirements.

Ncamisile and other residents have since decided to move back to the building as they have nowhere else to go.

“We have been cleaning up the building. Since we were not evicted from our building, we have decided to go back to the building. We are not even sure if the building is safe to live in but we have no choice.

“We don’t have any building materials but we will still make a plan to erect shacks inside,” said Ncamisile.