(Trinidad Guardian) Indeira Garcia is due to give birth to her ninth child any day now but the joy and excitement any expecting mother would feel is clouded for Garcia as she is desperately seeking assistance to rebuild her home after an arson attack in February.
She currently stays with relatives of the father of her youngest of three children and her unborn baby.
The living conditions are cramped and Garcia told Guardian Media she fears she has overstayed her welcome.
As the days count down till she is expected to give birth, Garcia is appealing to anyone who can assist her with materials to rebuild her home.
On Carnival Friday, Garcia’s Deonarine Junction, Calcutta #3 Couva home was shot up and set afire. Luckily although she, her eight young children and her common-law husband were inside the house, they all escaped unhurt. However, her two bedroom wooden house was completely destroyed along with all her belongings.
Her 18-year-old child has gone to stay with other relatives while Garcia and her other children ages 15, 13, 11, 10, five, three and one, live with her common-law husband. She and the children barely have any clothes, much less for footwear, she said.
“All I need is some material to build back something so me and my children could be comfortable,” Garcia said. “Right now, I don’t even want to think about making this baby because I have nowhere to carry it.”
She said she has not been able to purchase anything needed to welcome her newborn and although the circumstances are difficult right now, she would not give up on her children.
“It is hard to be by people house and going through this and then to have a baby coming but even if nobody wants to help me, I will fight up and see how I could take care of my children,” she said.
She said her common-law husband worked as a taxi driver to provide for the family but his car was destroyed in the fire and now he only gets work sometimes.
“If he gets a day work, he will take it but it is not enough to buy back the material,” she lamented.
She said she has gotten frustrated with waiting on the state to assist her as she only got a one-time use food card in the days after the fire and has heard nothing from the Ministry of Social Development since.
Guardian Media reached out to Social Development Minister Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn who promised to contact Garcia by Friday evening.
Even with that assurance, Garcia was doubtful.
“I will wait and see but I don’t think they will actually do anything to help because they said they would help months ago and I still waiting on that…I might just have to wait until I make this baby and I could go to find a work to help myself,” she said.