BOSETU donates to �destitute� teachers

Tumelo Mouwane | Friday October 9, 2015 16:50

The teachers shared a house, which burnt to the ground due to a blaze allegedly caused by a faulty electric cable last month and were left with empty-handed.

Handing over the furniture, BOSETU vice secretary general, Innocent Mannathoko said the union leadership was outside the country when the incident happened, but they immediately declared the teachers ‘destitute’ and promised to help restore their dignity.

“We pledged P20,000 as the union and we approached several companies who came to our rescue. Adding to the P20,000, Home Corp pledged two top quality beds and therefore we decided to buy two fridges and two burner stoves from them. Carly Clothing also pledged top quality clothing,” Mannathoko said.

“Part of the P20,000 pledged by the union has remained as change and we will soon handover the cheque.

We are glad that at least we have managed to restore some of their dignity and most importantly, you now have a safe stove, rather than the dangerous government stove you had in your house,” Mannathoko said.

Sharing their ordeal, the victims, Hendricks Albert and Patrick Paraminasethe, said the incident was a ‘shock’ as it took place in their absence. He said that BOSETU has rescued them from a depressing situation, said Albert.

Chichi Hill school headmaster, Paul Mmelesi also thanked BOSETU for the donation.

“It was hard for us alone to help the victims at the school.  I thank BOSETU for helping the two men in such a situation,” said Mmelesi.

BOSETU secretary for safety and health, Monica Legwale, said the incident was an accident and needs to be put on record. She said there was need to avail a report on the incident after investigations in order to help determine and foresee future dangers.

Legwale added the two teachers need continued support and that donations are flowing.

The teachers are satisfied with the new house, which is just four houses away from the blazed one. Even though the house is far much better, Cracks are visible across the wall.

It is evident that most houses in the area have serious defects, which could cause faulty electricity supply and some even go for weeks without power.

Lobatse Police inspector, Seitshiro states in a report that there is no ‘criminal foul play’ in their investigation.

“The fire incident was lodged in this office on September 19, 2015 by Mr Hendricks Albert.  We arrived at the scene and the Lobatse fire brigade was also called to the scene,” stated the report.  “Upon arrival, the house which had all its windows and doors closed was on fire and the entire house had already caught fire. We do confirm that everything was burnt to ashes and the value of property is estimated at P64,000,” the report read.