Pregnant Jika Joe Fire Victim Stays Awake All Night to Keep 3 Children Warm

• A fire ripped through the Jika Joe informal settlement in Pietermaritzburg over the weekend, leaving more than 600 residents without shelter
• Eight-month pregnant resident Mbali Phungula has been making fires through the night to keep her children warm with no roof over her head
• Mother of eight, Thabile Luthuli, is now collecting corrugated iron sheets to rebuild her shack while relying on NGOs for survival

KwaZulu-Natal — A heavily pregnant woman is spending her nights tending to open fires to shield her three young children from the bitter cold after a blaze tore through Pietermaritzburg's Jika Joe informal settlement over the weekend, leaving more than 600 residents destitute.

According to SABC News, the fire struck as snowfall was reported in parts of KwaZulu-Natal, compounding the misery for displaced families who lost their homes, food, and basic belongings in the disaster. Resident Mbali Phungula, who is eight months pregnant, told reporters she has not slept since losing her shelter.

"I make fires so my three children can get warm, and I stay up the whole night because I have no roof over my head," she said.

Phungula added that the constant movement across the disaster zone in her advanced stage of pregnancy has taken a severe toll on her body, causing significant pain and discomfort. She said she requires urgent hospital attention.

Families scramble to rebuild from ashes

Thabile Luthuli, a mother of eight, described the moment she narrowly escaped the flames. She was asleep with her child when a neighbour came to alert her that surrounding shacks were alight. She fled immediately as the fire closed in on her home.

Luthuli's primary concern now is keeping her eight children safe and warm during the freezing conditions. She has begun gathering corrugated iron sheets in an effort to piece together a new structure. Affected residents are currently dependent on assistance from non-governmental organisations for food and other basic necessities as they attempt to recover from the disaster.

Twin infants killed in North West fire

In a related article, Briefly News reported on a tragic shack fire in Ikageng, North West, which resulted in the deaths of four-month-old twin boys, leaving their parents injured and hospitalized. The incident has sparked an outcry for improved housing conditions to prevent similar tragedies in the future and has resonated deeply with South Africans grieving the loss of these young lives.

Source: Briefly News