CIDEL HECTOR, the female security guard who lost all her belongings in a fire which left her two-year-old son with first, second and third degree burns, is seeking help to rebuild her life.She spoke to Guyana Chronicle on Monday at the Georgetown Public Hospital, (GPH) where her son Malachi is still a patient. She said her son had undergone skin grafting. Skin grafting is a process by which skin is removed from one area of the body and transplanted to another.

The boy was hospitalized after suffering burns to his right arm and both knees during the early morning fire at Two Friends Village, East Coast Demerara two Mondays ago. He was rescued by Guyana Defenc Force soldier Colin Jack, who braved the heat and climbed through a window of the burning home to rescue the boy.
His 4-year-old brother, Nathaniel, was, seconds earlier, grabbed by another neighbour, Donette, while their single-parent mother was at her security guard job.

The two children were left alone at home after Cidel, then working the night shift, could not have found a babysitter for the night. The woman who usually babysat the children said on Monday that, on Sunday afternoon, the mother of the boys had asked her to keep them for the night, but she had declined.

Ms Hector told the Guyana Chronicle she had lost everything in the fire, and would welcome any help from Government, or from other organizations and individuals. Ever since the fire, she has been spending her days and nights at the Georgetown Hospital, where her son is still a patient. A neighbour in Ann’s Grove had offered Cydel a small shop to stay in, but Cydel’s mom also told her she prefers that she stays at her home. Cydel says that while her mother’s home is the better place for her to stay, the house is not large enough to comfortably accommodate them all, and so she is asking for assistance from relevant donor agencies to construct a home for herself and children.

She said she was informed that a Food for the Poor representative, Patricia Sam, was searching for her, but because of the time she has to spend with her son daily at the GPHC, she has not been able to get in contact with Ms Sam.

Cydel told Guyana Chronicle that she is being allowed leave from her workplace, COPS Security, to attend to her son. Her other son is currently in his father’s care.