WATCH: Family needs to rebuild their home
Fire victims are in need of building materials to help rebuild their family home.
Two caravans and two tents are what Terenure residents live in after a fire engulfed their home on February 26.
The home is owned by Orliena Viljoen, who lives with her children and their partners and her grandchildren.
WATCH: Fire engulfs Terenure house, 18 without a roof over their heads
Sixteen of the 18 residents on the premises were left homeless after the fire but donations and support from individuals and the neighbouring community have helped the family cope.
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“We were fortunate to receive a lot of assistance from various organisations, individuals and the community. We received clothes and food donations,” said Marcus Kruger, son of the owner.
“It has been difficult, but we try and cope with the situation. The children, on the other hand, take it as camping every day and they say they enjoy it. We have to make the best of what we have.”
Marcus said four-man and 11-man tents are used for sleeping while two other tents are used to store some of the donated items. The family is also kept busy cleaning and removing the rubble in between schooling and work.
Orliena’s daughter, Carolyn Kruger, said they had already started cleaning the house.
“It is not easy with all the rubble and soot but we are trying to clear out the place so we can see how we are going to renovate and rebuild the house,” said Carolyn.
“And the rain makes it very difficult to see progress as certain rooms flood without the roof.”
Marcus said: “The challenge now is getting rid of all the rubble. A skip only arrived on Friday, so at least we can throw everything inside and have direction. There are walls that will need to be taken down and some are still intact, but we need to get rid of the rubble so we can see what the way forward is.”
The house’s plumbing system seems to be working as the family uses the toilet and bathroom. Carolyn told Express they mainly lived on tinned foods as it was easier to store.
“We have a fridge. When needed, we plug it into an extension that is connected to our neighbour’s house, who allows us to use her electricity,” said Carolyn.
The family seems to be making the most of what they have, with their three dogs and four cats.
Marcus said they were in urgent need of building materials.
“At this stage, we have enough food and clothing thanks to all the donations we received, but we are in desperate need of building materials to rebuild the house.”
“The building material we need is mainly for the roof. We have received 500 bricks from people in Kempton Park and a woman donated 6 000 more bricks we still need to collect from Pretoria.
“We will have to take down certain walls.”
Some of the building items needed include wood to build roof trusses, zinc for the roof, bricks, plaster sand, cement (30 bags), building sand, purlins, tiles and ceiling boards, glass for windows, eight doors, a geyser and paint.
“Thank you to everyone who helped and supported us over the past two weeks, it is greatly appreciated. We were humbled with the amount of help we received,” concluded Marcus.
To donate or for more information, contact Marcus on 064 991 1186.
