Mother of 7 children pleads with public to help send them to school, after devastating fire
Ms. Seegobin's eldest daughter and a son stand in front of the burnt out structure. (Guyana Guardian photo)4,596 TOTAL VIEWS
Now helpless and depressed, the woman says that she is at the end stage of her mental capacity to handle the situation that has befallen her.
As such she is pleading with any member of the public and the authorities to do something to help her quickly.
In a rather disturbing interview with the Guyana Guardian, the woman explained that last Friday morning she was asleep when she was awoken by a crackling sound and heat pressing against her consciousness.
Sensing that something was wrong, Ms. Seegobin said she opened her eyes and quickly arise from her bed, only to see most of her surroundings engulfed in flames.
She said at the time, only one of her children was in the house with her, while the others were not at home.
Hence, instinctively, she grabbed the only remaining child and flee, leaving all of her belongings behind.
In the process, all of her children school clothing and books were burnt.
“I struggle fuh months fuh buy two shelf wid books fuh dem, and even all that bun up”, she said tearfully.
While not sure how the fire had started, Ms. Seebogin explained that her 53-year-old husband, Naipaul Sampaul also called ‘Amzad’ had earlier threatened to burn down the house and kill her.
However, since it was not the first time that he had made those threats she did not take him seriously when he said it again last Thursday.
According to her, that Thursday evening, they had a fight shortly before Sampaul was expected to leave for sea.
Even the fight she said was a normal thing but had occurred the last time because he asked her for money, but she did not have any to give him.
As a result, the man had beaten her and made threats to burn the house down with her inside.
She added that as usual, she did not take him seriously since he subsequently left the home on the same Thursday evening to go to sea and is expected back in ten days.
But even so, the tearful woman said that she does not believe that her husband had anything to do with the fire, which she suggested must have been set by someone else.
Constantly crying throughout the interview, the woman explained that her children are now unable to attend school.
As a matter of fact, two of the children cannot speak.
Now staying at the home of her eldest daughter at Fyrish, another Corentyne village, the situation there is even more pressing.
After all, the daughter told this publication that she is unemployed, poor and is unable to make ends meet. She added that she is not sure how she will be able to deal with the pressure of feeding her unemployed mother and all of her other siblings.
As a result, Mrs. Seegobin says that she is pleading with the public to help her out of her current situation.
“Even if is a bucket, school clothes, lil thing fuh cook, things fuh help build back me house… anything dem can give me go be thankful fah,” said Seegobin, as water settled in her eyes.
And since her phone was also destroyed in the fire, she has pointed the public to two other numbers by which she can be reached.
The primary number is 653-2003.
Contact can also be made to the president of the St. Francis Community Development Mr. Alex Foster on 337-4090.