After a family was destroyed by a blaze on January 05 at midnight, the Winnie Hadebe Foundation took it upon themselves to assist the victims in Orlando East.

According to information provided by the home owner, Ntswaki Matlabe, the fire allegedly started in the kitchen.

Matlabe, who was not there when the fire started, was called by her eldest child to alert her about the fire.

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“I can not disclose where I was when the fire started, but we suspect that it was caused by a fault in the plugs. I am grateful that it did not reach the bedroom where my four children were sleeping, and we managed to stop it on time.

“The other parts of the house were, however, severely damaged, and we were not able to salvage any of our belongings,” Matlabe said.

The family lost most of their belongings, including furniture, clothes, and documents.

Matlabe is pleading for assistance from residents as they try to rebuild from scratch.

“We currently are pleading with any organisations and residents who can assist us to kindly do so. The children were not able to attend the first day of school since all their school belongings burned in the fire.”

One of the foundations who responded was Winnie Hadebe, who recently came on board and donated food parcels, school uniforms, and clothing the children.

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The founder of the foundation, Winnie Hadebe, said they heard about the ordeal from Izibusiso Community Foundation, Mbali Masinga.

“We decided to immediately come on board so that the children can also be able to attend school since they have just opened.

“We hope that more businesses and organisations will come on board and assist in rebuilding the home because most of the house is damaged,” Hadebe said.

For more information, residents can contact Hadebe on 071 216 0152.