A five-month-old baby slept outside in a tent for the past two nights with its mother after their shack was razed to the ground on Sunday.
They will spend more frigid nights outside, as the mother, employed as a cleaner, is unable to immediately rebuild the shack from her meagre income. Two other children of 40-year-old Rosalia Andjelu are temporarily accommodated by their neighbours.
The family lost all their belongings in the fire; they were left with only the clothes they were wearing. The mother has to buy clothes for her three children and herself, a situation exacerbated by the current chilly conditions. Her shack went up in flames at Eehambo dha Nehale in the Havana informal settlement on Sunday afternoon while she was at work to provide for her children. She leaves her two children, aged 10 and 12, at home while a neighbour babysits the infant.
“I leave cooked food for them (children). I don’t know why they took a match to light the gas stove.
They left the gas on and went to play,” said Andjelu, who suspects the gas cylinder leaked and triggered a spark that started the fire.
Her son, who was outside, saw smoke coming from the shack and notified a neighbour’s son, who then went to inspect but the shack was already alight.
“We got a tent from a branch treasurer in the community while community members donated blankets and a mattress,” said the sole breadwinner of her family. Andjelu’s two older children were sheltered by her neighbour while she slept in the tent with her baby. Andjelu said she is grateful her children did not burn inside.
However, Andjelu, who is also a voluntary branch information executive at Eehambo dha Nehale under Moses Garoeb constituency expressed disappointment in the constituency councillor, Martin David, who, despite being informed about the incident, did not show up.
David told New Era on Tuesday that as a leader, he cannot go empty-handed but will only go with something along.
Therefore, David said his office is busy looking for assistance to help three other people who also lost their homes and belongings to fire over the weekend.
“As a leader, I cannot go empty-handed. If a person notifies you of an incident, it is because they want to be assisted and I have assisted many other community members by giving poles and corrugated iron sheets for them to be able to rebuild their homes,” he said. – sikela@nepc.com.na