Vanessa Collymore and the members of her family now live their lives around a single mattress.
The mattress, donated by the Guyana Relief Council (GRC), serves as the bed for the five members of the family at night and the place where they all eat, sit and mingle in wake of the fire that destroyed their home and another on Quamina Street, last Saturday.
Collymore and her family have been forced to stay in the open area under a relative’s house, located at the rear of her former home.
The woman told Stabroek News that they have been managing due to assistance from kindhearted persons who provide food for them on a daily basis. She said that whenever the need arises they also get access to washrooms but added that the current living arrangements are very uncomfortable.
Collymore also said that she has not been able to return to work since the fire but will have to do so from Monday. But the woman, who is a cleaner, noted that the prospect is troubling for her because she does not have any clothing to do so and all her uniforms were burnt in the fire. She and her husband have also been Stabroek News vendors for a number of years.
Getting her life back and soon, Collymore said, is her hope and she added that even though her home was not new she was comfortable with it. She stated that she is grateful for the assistance that was given to her by the GRC but she is seeking assistance from members of the public. (Collymore can be contacted on 698-0939)
The family’s home at Lot 197 Quamina and Camp streets was destroyed in the mid-afternoon blaze that started in the upper flat of Collymore’s home and spread to the cottage of her sister, Jacqueline Fortune and her family next door. Over 10 persons lost their homes as a result of the fire.
Collymore had said that on the day of the fire, she heard someone calling repeatedly for her grandson while she was downstairs cutting meat to cook. When she looked outside to see what the person wanted, she saw the upper flat of her home on fire.
The cause of the fire is still unknown but Collymore said she believes it was an act of arson because of a land dispute between one of her siblings and a city businessman. She said that after the fire, a neighbour related to her that two men were seen at the side of the house the day before.
A report on the origin of the fire is still to be issued by the Guyana Fire Service.
Meanwhile, Collymore’s neighbour, Jacqueline Soares, 69, whose house was also damaged by fire, has started rebuilding. Her grandson, who works at a lumber yard, assisted in getting materials to rebuild the wall with the assistance of his boss. The electrical wiring on the building has to be redone as well, said Soares, who sat inside the building as workmen were busy repairing the side of the house, which was burnt by the fire. The roof of the house was also damaged. Represen-tatives from the GRC also spoke with her and promised to provide assistance to her, she added.
Soares said she remains a bit shaken after the fire but added that she has been receiving strong support from family and friends. She stated that since the fire, she has been staying with her older son but she visits her home every day to see the repair work that is ongoing. “At my age, I don’t want to be nowhere else than in my home,” she said.
Her younger son and his wife, who had been living in the house with her, continue to stay in the damaged building.
