Mother, three kids left destitute after shack fire
Lost means to make an income
After a fire started by her neighbour's vengeful ex, a Walvis Bay woman and her three children have lost everything, and have turned into drifters.
Ndina Shigwedha’s next-door neighbour and her lover were enduring a rocky patch in their relationship. She could hear the commotion, but little did the 32-year-old mother-of-three know their squabbles would change her entire life.
Shigwedha and her children - aged one, 10 and 14 - are now destitute after the shack they called home for years was gutted by a fire last month in Walvis Bay’s Kuisebmond area.
The blaze was allegedly started by her neighbour’s vengeful ex-boyfriend.
“We have nowhere to put our tent without paying,” the emotional mother said, who must now endure frigid temperatures on the streets of Walvis Bay with her three kids.
The fire destroyed eight shacks in total as well as a room in an adjacent house and a garage.
Having lost all their belongings, Shigwedha is now appealing to the public to assist her in buying building materials for a new home for her family.
She told Namibia Media Holdings she cannot afford the N$500 rent to move back where she used to live. She used to make a living selling kapana, but since she lost all her stock, pots, plastic containers and savings to the fire, she has been struggling to feed her children – let alone build a new home.
‘We’ve become drifters’
“The thing I would like help with the most is buying new building materials for a new home so that I am able to continue selling kapana.
“We do not have clothes and we do not have anything to eat,” she said, adding that Walvis Bay mayor Trevino Forbes provided them with a tent, a mattress, food and a N$600 voucher, but this was only able to sustain them for a few days as she had to buy nappies for the baby and toiletries and food for her and the children.
Shigwedha said her and her three children have become drifters as a result of the fire and losing everything they owned.
“My daughter Ndeshipanda, who schools in Usakos, was also supposed to come for holiday but I have no way of accommodating her since we are also just temporarily staying at a friend’s house,” she said.
Those interested in assisting Shigwedha and children can do so by contacting her directly at 081 701 7088.
Shigwedha and her children - aged one, 10 and 14 - are now destitute after the shack they called home for years was gutted by a fire last month in Walvis Bay’s Kuisebmond area.
The blaze was allegedly started by her neighbour’s vengeful ex-boyfriend.
“We have nowhere to put our tent without paying,” the emotional mother said, who must now endure frigid temperatures on the streets of Walvis Bay with her three kids.
The fire destroyed eight shacks in total as well as a room in an adjacent house and a garage.
Having lost all their belongings, Shigwedha is now appealing to the public to assist her in buying building materials for a new home for her family.
She told Namibia Media Holdings she cannot afford the N$500 rent to move back where she used to live. She used to make a living selling kapana, but since she lost all her stock, pots, plastic containers and savings to the fire, she has been struggling to feed her children – let alone build a new home.
‘We’ve become drifters’
“The thing I would like help with the most is buying new building materials for a new home so that I am able to continue selling kapana.
“We do not have clothes and we do not have anything to eat,” she said, adding that Walvis Bay mayor Trevino Forbes provided them with a tent, a mattress, food and a N$600 voucher, but this was only able to sustain them for a few days as she had to buy nappies for the baby and toiletries and food for her and the children.
Shigwedha said her and her three children have become drifters as a result of the fire and losing everything they owned.
“My daughter Ndeshipanda, who schools in Usakos, was also supposed to come for holiday but I have no way of accommodating her since we are also just temporarily staying at a friend’s house,” she said.
Those interested in assisting Shigwedha and children can do so by contacting her directly at 081 701 7088.
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