Touched by the story of a mother who lost her two daughters in a shack fire in New Brighton in July, a group of good Samaritans gathered donations to give the mourning mother a boost as she tries to pick up the pieces and move forward.
Nomathamsanqa Ngqoboka, 35, was overcome with emotion on Friday when the donors handed over blankets, clothing and money.
Though she is still struggling to come to terms with the death of her daughters, Ngqoboka said the kind gesture had given her a bit of hope.
Her daughters, Sinokholo, 18, and Limilile, 12, died in a fire that started just minutes after she left them hanging up the laundry and walked up the street to charge her phone at a friend’s house.
A Gqeberha resident who read about Ngqoboka’s tragedy in The Herald led the donation drive, asking people to assist the mother who had lost all her belongings in the fire.
She also wrote into the newspaper’s Chirps section to ask the public to chip in.
The donor, who declined to be named, managed to collect blankets, clothes and cash from several other people who came forward.
She had been deeply saddened by what Ngqoboka had suffered and hoped to make a difference in her life, she said.
“I have children of my own and I cannot imagine what I would do if something like that happened to me.
“When I read the story, I couldn’t just move on from it because I felt her pain so deeply.
“I had to help with the little I could offer and it was even better when more people responded to my call,” the donor said.
Ngqoboka, who travelled home to Komani to bury her daughters, returned on Thursday.
An emotional Ngqoboka said the gesture had brought her a ray of light amid the darkness.
“I cannot express how grateful I am for what [the donors] have done for me.
“It makes me so emotional to realise that even strangers feel my pain enough to go to so much trouble.
“People have been so kind and giving.
“Even community members from New Brighton and back home have done so much to help me transport my children home and bury them,” Ngqoboka said.
Ngqoboka, who spent a month at her Komani home, said she still struggled to come to terms with the death of her children and felt lonely without them.
“I think of them quite often and I struggle to accept that they’re gone.
“All I have are videos of them on my phone that I watch and feel a little closer to them,” she said.
Ngqoboka said she had managed to secure another place to stay and was getting ready to move when the tragedy happened.
The donors said they hoped their gesture would inspire more people to help others in need.
HeraldLIVE
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