Pretoria - It was a gloomy Christmas Day and festive season for Paulina Sithole from Hammanskraal, as she watched her house burn to the ground in a midnight fire.
The 80-year-old from Mashemong village lives with her grandson Mpho Sithole who takes care of her.
At the weekend she told the Pretoria News how at about midnight her grandson was out with friends while she was sleeping when she heard loud banging sounds from the kitchen.
Thinking someone was throwing stones at her shack she waited for it to stop, until she went to check what was going on.
“When I woke up I found a fire coming through the house and could not think of a cause. I tried to go outside but my legs were cramped and I couldn’t walk, so I fell. My neighbour came to my rescue and helped me out when he saw the flames, pulling me out before the fire got to me.”
They watched the blaze spread through her shack as it gained momentum. She said that she felt everything in her go weak, as she watched her home burn to the ground.
“To tell you the truth I couldn’t even cry because I was terrified and scared. I have never experienced something like this in my life. It was a miracle that I survived because if my neighbour did not come in at that time I would have died in the fire, she said.
She added that when residents tried to stop the fire by pouring water, it was like they were making it worse. She said she could feel the heat from outside and it was terrifying.
“Firefighters came with an ambulance and they took me to the hospital, where I was told that there’s too much smoke in my lungs. I was admitted and kept for five days to clear the smoke … they put me on drips and injected me so that I could breathe.”
Dreading the return home, Sithole said she was surprised by the operating manager and co-owner of Jubilee Mall in Hammanskraal Grace Mulaudzi and her team from Thunder Bay Spur, who stepped in to assist.
Mulaudzi said shelter was most important for survival, in addition to being well, so they bought a two-room shack for Sithole, just so she had a place to live when she returned from hospital.
“People can accommodate you but not for long, especially in her state because she can’t walk properly. She is old now and she uses a wheelchair to move around. That is why we decided to help her.
She asked others to donate what they could, to make Sithole’s life easier: “If people have anything that they can give, to help gogo with they are more than welcome to bring them, from groceries, toiletries and cutlery, we would really appreciate it,” she said.
Pretoria News