By Anita Dangazele
The mother of a Gqeberha teenager who died in a house fire at the weekend is appealing for donations after she lost all her belongings in the deadly blaze on Saturday morning.
Lukhanyo Kwikwi, 19, had hoped to attend a Good Friday church service with his mother.
But when his Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) wages didn’t come through, he stayed behind as his mother didn’t have transport money for both of them.
Ntombebhongo Kwikwi, 45, said she and her son had planned to sleep at a relative’s home in KwaDwesi after the service.
They were hoping his money would come through during the day and that Lukhanyo would make his way over to KwaDwesi when it did.
“He sent me a message telling me that the money hadn’t come in but he would still like to come. I told him that I only had R100 and that if he came over, we wouldn’t have enough money to get home,” Kwikwi said.
The distraught mother said she received frantic phone calls at about 6am on Saturday to say her house was on fire.
“I rushed home but the firefighters wouldn’t let me go inside. No one would tell me where Lukhanyo was. I just knew in my heart he was gone,” said Kwikwi.
She said she was struggling to accept her son’s tragic death even though she had seen his charred body.
The only remaining structure in the Westering property is a single garage, where the family has been sleeping on a donated mattress for the past four days.
“The only clothes I have left are the ones on my back. I have been wearing this dress since Friday when I left for church. We have nothing else,” Kwikwi said.
She said she had no idea how she would rebuild her home again as she Is also employed by the EPW Programme, which does not pay much.
“We are asking for help to get a roof over our heads, or even a temporary toilet, because there isn’t running water in the yard,” she said.
A community member in Westering has created a “back-a-buddy” account where people can donate money to help the family rebuild.
Anyone who wishes to donate can simply click on the link: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/…/clarence-house-fund-raiser
Pictured above: Lukhanyo Kwikwi died tragically on Saturday morning in a house fire.
Image source: Supplied
