adminSukulwenkosi Dube
SPAR Supermarket in Plumtree has donated grocery items to a family of seven from Thekwane in Bulilima who lost all their property to an inferno.
Ms Mihingo Ndlovu (41), her five children and mother aged 80, recently lost all their property to a mysterious fire that gutted their bedroom hut.
She said they lost clothes, food and valuable documents in the fire.
Ms Ndlovu said her family was now sleeping in an incomplete house which did not have doors and windows.
In an interview after receiving a donation of groceries, kitchen utensils, clothing and blankets from Spar Supermarket workers on Friday, Ms Ndlovu said she could now heave a sigh of relief.
“I am relieved to have received this donation because life had become very difficult for me since the fire incident. I stay with children and my mother and I am the one who has to fend for them.
“We lost all our food in the fire, clothing and property. My main worry has been providing them with food because we managed to get some clothing from our neighbours and now I will be able to put food on the table for a couple of days because of this donation,” she said.
Ms Ndlovu said on the day of the incident she was in the kitchen and was alerted by her son that their home was on fire.
She said they tried to put out the fire but to no avail as all valuables had already been damaged.
Ms Ndlovu said she assumed that one of her children had started the fire but they all denied. She said a few days later her uncle’s homestead which is close by caught fire mysteriously which left them searching for the source of the fire at both homesteads.
Ms Ndlovu said in the meantime they were sleeping in an incomplete hut because she could not raise money to repair the burnt hut or to complete the house they were now using.
Spar supermarket owner, Ms Yenzani Heinecke said she heard of Ms Ndlovu’s misfortune when she won a stove during the ongoing Spar Hoza Summer Promotion.
“Ms Ndlovu was one of the winners of the promotion that is running at all Spar supermarkets. She won a four plate gas stove and after chatting with her we learned that she had suffered a great loss as a result of the fire incident.
“We then saw it appropriate to help her with grocery items, clothing as well as other items that could help her and her family,” she said.
Ms Heinecke said the entire donation was worth $220. She said the items donated comprised mealie meal, pots, uniforms, blankets, plates as well as other food items.
She said it was the duty of the business community to give back to the public that supports them.
Bongani Ndlovu