Last Sunday night (29th of March, 2015) something horrible happened. A house was burned to the ground and those flames left the family with nothing in their life anymore.
The fire started at four o’clock in the morning. The family was sleeping in their bedrooms. Luckily one of them, Sandra, the mother, woke up due to people screaming on the street. At that moment the house was already burning. Sandra was so quick to wake the other family members up and all of them were able to leave the house and save their lives just on time. Sandra and her two daughters, one of them has got a baby, have got nothing any more. They have not lost their house, they have lost their home. There are now just memories of their home left. Last November the family restructured their house. Now they must start from the beginning again.
The night after the fire Sandra and one of her daughters slept outside to protect the few things that survived the fire. They didn’t want to lose more than they had already lost. They kept each other awake by telling each other stories. Sandra’s nephew and her other daughter spent the night by friends who were willing to open their doors for them. The baby is suffering a long term disease as well as the mom, this is enough to understand that this family needs its home back as quick as possible. Unfortunately they don’t have money to rebuild their home within a short frame of time. They just have to take it day by day. One of the daughters said that crying is not going to help them, they have to move on. They have to focus on having their roof back. This family has showed and transmitted us a lot of courage.
Apparently the fire wasn’t an accident. Someone started the fire. People on the street reported to having seen a person with a lighter setting the house on fire. They said that the arsonist intention was to put the neighbor’s house on fire. But it was Sandra’s house that was destroyed by the flames instead. What kind of revenge is destroying someone else’s life?
The government is not really helping Sandra’s family. The only thing they have done so far was giving them a starter kit with some poles and plates. Not one persons of the government came to see what had happened, no one came to talk to them. Mymoena Scholtz (Director) and Kevin Aerts, our Belgian volunteer of Where Rainbows Meet, was the first people to whom the family could tell what had happened.
During his visit, Kevin reported that other four local volunteers were working on creating a temporary shelter to the family from rain and sun. So at least the family does not have to sleep outside anymore. To re-build the shelter they used their creativity by getting it done with the plates which were burned by the fire along with those few which were furnished by the government in the small starter’s kit.
There is a lot more to do for this family. There is a lot more the government can do. There is a lot more we all can do together to combat revenges and the destroying of people’s lives in our community. Rainbows plays a significant role where disasters are concern, and try and restore human dignity within the various communities we serve. We cannot do it alone though, and appeal to the public to support us financially to re-built a new home for this family. To see the trauma and the damages caused by these fires, do not allow the families to think about this, but as an organization we play a vital role in order to give support in this way, cause together we can make a bigger difference. Monies can be deposited in the account of the foundation with the reference fire victims. Bank details are on the website and please use the EU account.
Thank you and God bless.
Kevin Aerts & Sebastiano Boccomino