Social Development helps Sikhosana family rebuild after fire at their Sakhile home

The Department of Social Development built a three-room-shack for the Sikhosana family during the 67 minutes on 18 July.

The family lost everything in a fire on 7 May leaving them with only the clothes on their backs and groceries, identity documents, Sassa cards and other important records destroyed.

The family has been living apart with different family members since the day of the fire.

Mr Rutherford Sikhosana went to collect water from the delivery trucks, while Ms Thembisile Ntobela, his wife, was running errands.

Ms Gertrude Makhubo, a neighbour who was sitting on her porch, noticed smoke coming from the Sikhosana homestead and at first assumed that a coal stove was being lit, but when she saw the fire growing in size, she shouted for help.

Neighbours rushed to extinguish the fire, but quickly ran out of water that was stored in cans in their homes.

Both Mr Sikhosana and Ms Ntobela are unemployed and survive on government disability grants.

Ms Ntobela was taken to the clinic and treated for shock after the fire and discharged.

It was not clear as to how the fire began.

“Maybe they would not have lost everything if we had running water and if we noticed it before the fire got out of hand,” Ms Sthembile Makhubo, a neighbour, said.

According to residents in Ext 7, they they have had no running water for the last 10 years.

According to Ms Thobeka Mtshiselwa, communications manager of the Lekwa Municipality, only certain sections of Ext 7 do not have running water.

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