Pupils to the rescue after fire
Youngsters help family who lost everything in blaze
SOLOMON Mahlangu High School pupils have taking it upon themselves to help rebuild the lives of a family whose KwaNobuhle home was engulfed by flames last week. Grade 8 pupil Lazola Maqgabi, 15, and her family lost everything apart from their pyjamas and half a dressing room table, after their Dlamini Street home went up in flames at about 2am on Tuesday.
However, members of the school’s Youth Action Citizen Programme and Teenagers Against Drug Abuse (Tada) have provided hope for the family and taken it upon themselves to revamp the charred remains of their two-bedroom home.
Grade 10 pupil Kamvalethu Hlatshwayo, 15, said they had formed a work group of about 10 pupils to clean the blackened house and, through donations, were hoping to assist the family to get back on their feet.
“We have some money saved from our [Youth Action] projects, which we have already used to buy Lazola a new school uniform.
“And we have asked the rest of the school and staff to donate whatever they can to help, no matter how small,” Kamvalethu said.
“One of the cleaning ladies donated a pair of school shoes.
“The problem we are facing is that our peers and their families also come from modest homes so they can’t give much – which is why we are appealing to everyone, especially businesses, to help us help them.”
Lazola’s mother, Silvia, 50, said she felt blessed to have the support of the school during this difficult time.
“We are not sure how the fire started. My daughter was in the shack at the back with her sister, niece and aunt. When they came running inside screaming the bed was on fire, I went outside and saw the flames,” she said.
The fire spread from the backyard shack to the main house and jumped to the boundary fence.
“I am so grateful for the support the children are giving us and I pray that their spirit will spread to the rest of the metro, “Silvia said.
“We are staying with a friend of mine for now until we get our house sorted out.”
Solomon Mahlangu High School principal Mncedi Mtengwana said the roles had been reversed, with the pupils now leading the staff at times.
“I am very proud of these pupils for coming together the way they have, this is precisely what [Youth Action Citizen Programme] and Tada are about – the youth working together to bring about change in their communities and empowering the people in them,” Mtengwana said.
School social worker Olwen Carsen said: “There is still a lot needed to get the job done.
“They have lost everything so they need any donations possible especially food, clothes and paint.”
Carson requested that anyone willing to help in any form contact her on 082-851-5315.