MORE than five months after an early-morning fire ravaged her home while completely destroying two other buildings in the process, Angela Demonick is putting the pieces back together but the journey, thus far, has been a rough one.

The widow and her three children – ages 10, 14 and 18 – have been living in what is left of the charred Pike Street, Kitty two-storey building. With the upper flat of the building badly burnt, tarpaulins and carpets have been converted to improvised walls to protect them from the elements as they occupy small sections.

Demonick, however, told reporters that during heavy downpours, they are reminded of their reality. “When the rain falls plenty my daughter does got to move,” the 46-year-old mother said as she pointed to a makeshift room in which her 14-year-old daughter sleeps. To further keep out the rain, zinc sheets, given to the family by GAFOORS, have been placed in a sloping position over the bed.

The situation is not different for her two other children, Demonick said, while further pointing out that though she sleeps in the lower flat, she too is affected. “Where I am right now, it is wet all over, because of the rain. I have four buckets catching water but I am still getting wet,” she posited. While they have access to the basic necessities including water, electricity and food, Demonick told reporters that her children are affected psychologically. “My children, everybody is frustrated, especially the boy, because he keeps saying that he is not accustomed to this kind of life…I believe is because of this situation they are not really functioning properly in school, especially my son…everything is affecting him,” she explained.

But as if the situation is not bad enough, Demonick alleged that her late husband’s children appeared on a number occasions with the police to have them evacuate the building, although the matter is engaging the attention of the court.

“Even after the fire they came back with the police to tell me they want to repair this house and I must move out of the yard. So I said to them, how could I move out of this yard, where y’all want me to go with my children, when y’all know that we belong here,” she recalled.

Demonick is determined to rebuild her family home, and with the help of the government, the corporate community and public-spirited citizens; she believes it can be done.
On Wednesday, Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, visited Demonick’s home, and announced that she will be partnering with Chung’s Global Enterprise to replace the roof of the building. Chung’s Global has agreed to provide free construction services, while Minister Broomes will provide financial aid with support from other persons.

“We are trying to see if we can assist them in fixing the roof to bring about a change in the situation. I think it would be safer for them; then they will be able to piece by piece get themselves back together, but for now I am going to assist her with some support from persons,” the minister said.

Minister Broomes had opened her home to Demonick and her family when the fire struck on March 7, 2018. One of Demonick’s neighbours, Chandini (only name given), has been assisting the fire victims. “I had a home that I bought, a land up the road, an old house, I told them they could utilise it…subsequently they did so,” she told reporters. On Wednesday, in the presence of the minister, Chandini presented Demonick with an undisclosed sum of cash to assist her with the rebuilding of her home.

To date, the family has received support from Minister Broomes, the Ministry of Social Protection, Food For The Poor, GAFOORS and a number of public-spirited Guyanese.
Demonick and her children were among close to 30 persons who were affected as a result of the fire which destroyed three buildings. According to reports, the fire originated in the southern half of Lot 185 Pike Street, Kitty, completely gutting an old wooden house which housed seven apartments. The fire quickly spread to nearby houses located both east and west of the said property. No one was injured, neither was there any loss of life.