Three months after their home burnt down, a Sisters village, West Bank Demerara family is seeking the assistance of the public to rebuild.
“We just have a thing with some zinc, like a shed and every time rain falls, we get wet,” Nickasee Duncan, one of the occupants, told Stabroek News. He explained that they have been sleeping in hammocks for the past three months under “the shed” they call home.
In a plea for help, he said that in the past few months, he and his brother have been attempting to rebuild their home but with limited job opportunities, they are unable to save up to begin construction.
“If we can get some help to start with the foundation, it will mean so much to us. We have been trying but we don’t have the money to start. I work in construction and not every day you get work,” he lamented.
“It is Christmas and we don’t have much to celebrate…I don’t even have a job right now and it is very frustrating because we want to make progress but we are not able to do that right now,” the young man bemoaned.
Duncan and his siblings, along with his nieces and nephews, occupied the home prior to it going up in flames on the night of September 5th.
The fire, which started sometime between 8.45pm and 9pm at the Lot 250 Sisters Village property, destroyed their three-bedroom home.
The tragedy occurred months after the Duncan siblings lost their mother after a brief period of illness.
“We have nowhere to go. After the fire last night, we stayed up till day clean and now we are just here with family and friends… we lost everything, my working tools, clothing, documents, furniture everything gone,” were the words of Duncan, when he spoke to Stabroek News a day after the fire.
At the time of the fire, neighbours told this newspaper that the children, ages seven, six and four, were home alone.
Fire Chief Marlon Gentle had told Stabroek News that based on investigations, it was revealed that one of the three children was using a lighter to light a lamp when it dropped on a mattress, resulting in the blaze.
Neighbours quickly formed a bucket brigade and began battling the fire. Their efforts were later complemented by the fire service from the La Grange Fire Station.
The family is willing to accept any assistance from the public to rebuild and persons desirous of assisting can make contact on telephone numbers 699-1611 and 683-9137.
