Nearly three months since their house was ravaged by fire, the Maphike family in New Crossroads is still struggling to get their lives back to normal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With their 80-year-old mother, family members are currently squatting with relatives and friends in and around Cape Town. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A devastated Dimakatso Maphike says they are now in desperate need for help. \u201cMe and my daughter and my grandchild are staying in my cousin\u2019s house. We can\u2019t stay with my mother because the house is too small,\u201d she explained, adding that her mother stays with a friend opposite to her cousin\u2019s house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Maphike, all they need now is a roof material to fix the house and a paint for the walls. They were damaged in the fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The family\u2019s life took a turn for the worst when a fire broke out on Saturday 28 May. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the cause of the fire could not be determined, the family suspects loadshedding. \u201cIt was in the afternoon when the incident occurred just after loadshedding. An electric plug tripped and we pushed it up. It tripped again and when we tried to push it again the meter box exploded. The flames spread all over the house. We lost almost everything that was inside,\u201d said Maphike, adding that they only managed to take out a bag with their personal documents, a fridge and a room divider. Everything else burned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maphike says she is worried about her mother\u2019s health. She says it is deteriorating daily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy mother is not well and it is her wish that whatever happens to her happen while she is already in her house. And we also want to go back to our family house,\u201d she says. She adds that they informed the former Ward 38 councillor Thembisile Ntamo to assist them but their efforts were in vain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ntamo died at the Rondebosch Medical Centre Private Hospital on Thursday 18 August due to heart related problems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nearly three months since their house was ravaged by fire, the Maphike family in New Crossroads is still struggling to get their lives back to 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