The South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) Hall in KTC was packed to the rafters during the funeral of Lusanda and her son, Akhumzi Blaawu on Friday, 21 August.

An 18-month-old toddler died in a shack fire on Saturday, 25 July at Section 6 in the area, and his mother died two weeks later in hospital from her injuries.

Both Lusanda and Akhumzi were buried in the same coffin.

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Family grateful for community support

A family member, Mollie Blaawu, said the family was relieved after their loved ones were buried. She expressed her gratitude to all the people who contributed to making the funeral possible. She said all they wanted was for their children to be buried with dignity.

“As a family, we are happy that my daughter and my grandchild have been buried after we struggled for so long. We didn’t have money to bury them because we are all unemployed in the family. We thank all the people who supported us with prayers and donations during this difficult time,” she said.

Civic and political leaders praise community effort

KTC SANCO secretary Nkosikhona Mafenuka praised the community for the contribution they made to help the family bury their loved ones. He said they were delighted that the deceased would at last be laid to rest.

Ward 38 councillor Suzanne Zumana described the service as a huge victory for the whole community. “It was distressing everyone to see a family struggling to bury its loved ones. We are all happy to see them buried in a dignified manner. I also thank the community for their contribution,” said Zumana. They were laid to rest at Delft Cemetry.