THIRTEEN persons, Including eleven children, were left homeless after a mid-morning fire razed their wooden dwelling at Lot 31 Kingelly Village, West Coast Berbice on Wednesday.
Government has responded immediately and the Ministry of Social Protection has committed to assisting the family. Subject Minister Amna Ally, during a visit to the family, pledged government’s support and invited them to her office today to work out arrangements for the assistance.

Those left homeless are Ms. Shelly Long, her reputed husband George McDonald and her eleven children, ages ranging from sixteen years to less than one year old.
Mrs. Long told the Guyana Chronicle that she had no idea what could have caused the blaze. “I left the children at home around 9 o’clock and went to a nearby shop to get some goods. It was on my way back home that I saw the smoke and the fire coming from the house,” she said.

Neighbours said that given the proximity of the house to the heavy breeze from the nearby Atlantic Ocean, the blaze quickly engulfed the wooden building. “No one was able to get into the house to save anything. The only concern had to be making sure that none of the children were trapped in the blaze. Thankfully, all managed to escape unhurt,” they said
The neighbours said that the Fire Service was called but the building had already been flattened by the time they arrived. Ms. Long, who is the owner of the property, said that her losses amounted to close to a million dollars. The woman said yesterday that she was a housewife while her reputed husband was self-employed and their means of income and livelihood were limited.

She said she fervently hope that she would get public assistance to get temporary shelter for herself and family and help in subsequently getting their own roof over their heads as soon as possible.