Remains of seven-year-old Mon Repos fire victim returned to Guyana

Shaniya Persaud
Shaniya Persaud

The remains of Shaniya Persaud, the seven-year-old who succumbed more than a month after she was severely burnt in a fire that gutted her Mon Repos North, East Coast Demerara (ECD) home, have been returned to Guyana and a funeral service is scheduled for tomorrow.

Non-governmental organisation Saving Hands Emergency Aid (SHEA) in a Facebook post yesterday confirmed that Persaud’s remains arrived safely and were in the custody of her parents.

Persaud will be laid to rest on Sunday.

A funeral service will be held at her 101 Mon Repos North, ECD home at 10 am after which she will depart for the Good Hope Cemetery for burial at 2pm.

Persaud, a student of the Mon Repos Primary School, sustained second and third degrees burns to 97% of her body in the fire, which started around 1 am on August 5th at her house at Lot 101 Mon Repos North.

At the time of the fire, Persaud and her brothers, Akeem Persaud, 9, and Brandon Anthony, 13, had been left home alone as their mother, Samantha Gayadin, was attending a wedding in the community.

Persaud succumbed to her injuries on September 8th, a day after SHEA had announced that doctors had given her a poor chance of recovery.

SHEA had disclosed that one of Persaud’s legs, a few of her fingers and a section of one of her ears were amputated on the evening of September 6th.

The NGO had said that despite doctors’ “incredible” efforts, Persaud’s wounds were not healing.

Fire Chief Marlon Gentle recently related to Stabroek News that investigators have concluded that the fire was an act of arson.

The matter is now being dealt with by the police who are tasked with finding the perpetrator/s and to determine for what reason/purpose the act was committed.

Persaud was taken overseas by SHEA for treatment after local doctors declared that not much could be done for her here.

Due to the severity of her burns, she was transported via an air ambulance.

She was accepted to the Texas-based hospital, where she was being treated free of cost.