Fyzabad grandmother Sumintra Mungroo says she is grateful and overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity to her family after a fire destroyed their home and its contents on Thursday. Seated under a makeshift tent mere metres from the ruins of her Saltmine Trace home yesterday, Mungroo struggled to find the words to express thanks to the many people who offered relief to the family of five.
“All I have to say is thank God I am alive and my children are alive and nobody get burn. All I could say is we have a good Lord and we live a good life with people, so we get the support from people around and [people] I never meet in my life, I see today,” she said.
Yesterday, Mungroo, who is a diabetic and heart patient; her husband, Toolsie Ramjit; and their sons Anand Mungroo, 28; Shiva, 25; and Satish Ramjit, 15, received a hamper from Asauph Ghany, manager of the People Issues Resolution Co-ordinating Unit in the Ministry of the People. He also presented the family with a temporary food card valued at $700, which he said was part of the relief that would be provided them.
Ghany said Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who is also Minister of the People, saw the Fyzabad family’s “unfortunate” circumstance and directed that relief be given to them. Ramjit said around 3.45 am on Thursday he was cooking when he heard his downstairs window shatter, followed by a loud explosion. He said when he ran downstairs he saw the room on fire and immediately called his sons and wife; he then grabbed his granddaughter, Anjali, and ran out of the house.
He said there was no water in the mains to out the flames and the entire house was quickly engulfed in flames. The family estimated losses at $300,000. Ghany said yesterday that the family would also receive assistance to replace their destroyed appliances and funding to help rebuild their home. He said the National Social Development Programme (NSDP) unit would visit and interview them to start the process of helping them to build a new home.
“I appreciate the Prime Minister and thank her for the help. I appreciate everybody for helping my family and supporting us in a time like this, especially at Christmas,” Mungroo said. The woman added that while she might not have a house right now, “at least I have something to cook, so wherever I (stay) I could still cook something from that and my family will be happy for that.” Anyone wishing to assist the family can call 296-3593 or 315-4073.