Help for artisan and families hit by Ducats fire
MTHATHA-born Xolisa Tofile watched helplessly as his Ducats home was engulfed by flames on Friday last week.
“I woke up and just heard people shouting. We tried to pour water and to save things, but the fire spread too quickly,” said Tofile.
Luckily, Tofile’s daughters, aged 11 and six, were already on their way to school when the fire broke out and he was able to wake his girlfriend in time to escape the blaze.
The fire, which is believed to have started when the neighbouring shack’s electrical box caught alight, destroyed everything and left Tofile and his family with nothing but the clothes on their backs and their car.
Three other families also lost their homes.
“I’m so grateful that my family and our neighbours are alive, but I’ve lost my laptop, my tools, my cellphone, everything, and my business is going to struggle,” said Tofile.
As the sole breadwinner for his family, Xolisa runs his own small business putting up ceilings and partitions privately as well as subcontracting to various companies.
Border Flooring, which Tofile has done work for over the years, has lent him a cellphone to carry on with some of his work and is asking for the public’s support in donating items for Tofile and his family.
“Xolisa is a brilliant artisan and he has done ceilings for the past few years in my properties,” said Border Flooring managing member Pierre Weber.
“His workmanship and reliability is brilliant and I would recommend him to anybody. He also employs a few guys from the community who help him from time to time.
“When he came to me last week in tears as he had lost everything, I knew we had to do something to help him.”
Tofile has lived in Ducats for nine years and plans to rebuild in another area of the township just outside Beacon Bay. For now, the family is staying in a small shack in a friend’s yard.
“The biggest problem is the raw materials needed to rebuild, so we are trying to help him get what he can,” said Weber.
Border Flooring has already collected some clothes for Tofile and his family and has asked people to drop off anything from kitchen cutlery to clothes and linen at its offices at 9 Lambart Road, Arcadia.
“Pierre has been very helpful and I’m grateful for everything that the public has already dropped off. Anything extra will go to the other families who also need help,” said Tofile.
East London-based NPO Hope Alive has also aided Tofile and his neighbours by donating various items to the affected families.