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Mashudu Mambo
BOWKER Muchichwa (54) from Mahatshula North suburb in Bulawayo is all smiles after returning to his refurbished home that was destroyed by a fire in July.
The inferno, suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault, destroyed the seven-roomed house and property worth about US$25 000 and left him with nothing.
Muchichwa said he was grateful for the help from the community who supplied him with food, clothing and helped him rebuild his home.
“I am so grateful for the love that l saw from our community members who showed up and ensured that we had food and clothing. The community and churches came through for us and ensured that we lacked nothing.
“I returned to my house on 10 October 2023 and am grateful to my neighbour who played a crucial role in accommodating me and my family for these past months,” said Muchichwa.
Muchichwa shared lessons from the incident and urged homeowners to insure their homes.
“There are many lessons that I learnt from the incident including having good relationships with community members and insuring homes.
“Every week, there are reports of house fires, and l believe that there is a need for every household to have fire extinguishers because from my experience, we tried to extinguish the fire with water, and this made it worse,” said Muchichwa.
Last month, the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) noted an increase in fire incidents stating they were receiving eight to 10 fire calls daily.
In June, the BCC Acting Chief Fire Officer Linos Phiri said they recorded 46 cases of fires in two weeks.
“From 2 to 15 June, we recorded four property types of fire with one being an electric cooker left on, the other being a lit candle left unattended, the other being carelessly discarded lit material while the last is unknown.
“We attended three vehicle fires where two were caused by electrical faults and the other being grass fire.
“We had four rubbish cases caused by deliberate burning and 34 cases of grass fire. We recorded one False Alarm with Good Intent (FAGI) as a pressure cooker was left on. The total number of calls attended from 2 to 15 June was 46,” said Phiri.
A member of the Mahatshula Residents’ Association Jabulani Gambiza said the community surpassed his expectations and urged other communities to adopt the strategy of helping their community members faced with crises.
“I am happy about the work that was done by the community. They responded positively to the crisis from the first day of the incident until now. The community members provided money, shelter, clothing, food and above all they gave the family spiritual and emotional support.
“I believe that some communities have to adopt the strategy of working together in dealing with such unforeseen incidents,” said Gambiza.
Gambiza said they had managed to fix the roof and were now left with the ceiling.
“We have used about US$8 500 for the renovations and we have managed to fix the roof, windows and plastering. We are pushing for the ceiling and rewiring of the house,” said Gambiza.
He stated that they got support from different partners who managed to ensure the success of the initiative.
“We would like to appreciate the other partners who contributed to this positive initiative including community members, churches and companies,” said Gambiza.
Muchichwa’s neighbour Mclean Nemukuyu urged communities to have good relations with their neighbours to ensure that they can unite in dealing with crises.
“This incident has taught me that such cases can happen to anyone at any time and unexpectedly. It taught me that we must look out for each other as a family in both good and bad times.
“There is also a need for us to communicate with our neighbours not only when we need something but greeting and checking up on our neighbours,” said Nemukuyu.
Nemukuyu said the incident had strengthened his relationship with his neighbour.
“The incident has taught me the importance of sharing anything that God has blessed us with and my relationship with my neighbour is stronger than before,” he said.
Siphakeme .Mnindwa
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