Bourda Market vendor pleads for assistance after fire guts house

The Bourda Market vendor who lost her West Coast Berbice (WCB) home on Tuesday to fire is pleading with the public to assist her to rebuild, since she has nowhere to live.
Tuesday evening’s fire at Number 12 Village WCB has left 60-year-old Sukwatie Ramnarine, called ‘Indira’, and her two children homeless, the fire – of unknown origin – having completely destroyed the market vendor’s home.
The woman had reportedly left home at about 3:00h to travel to the market, and heard of the fire when she was returning home in the evening. By the time she arrived, the house in which she once lived was reduced to ashes.
Her 29-year-old son Ramdeo told investigators that he and his brother had left home at about 08:00h for a friend’s house, and before leaving, they had switched off all electrical appliances.

Ramnarine has said she lost everything in the fire. “I does throw a lil box hand, because you don’t make anything much in the market. I collect the box hand, over $200,000, the day before, and plus I had some other money. All burn up! Even my jewellery, all were in the house, and everything burn up! When I reached, nothing is there,” she said.
Neighbours had reportedly attempted to put out the blaze, but were unsuccessful.
Firefighters from the Onverwagt Fire Station who arrived on the scene were to put out the blaze. However, villagers were able to remove a bus which was parked under the house, preventing any damage to it.
Ramnarine on Wednesday told this publication that she is in need of somewhere to live. “Right now I don’t have a cent in my name, because everything burn,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“I was standing up on the road, but because this rain came down just now, that is why I came back into the yard,” she added.
“I does work very hard to get what I had. When I sell, and if I have a little profit, I would go and buy something for the house, like how the Christmas is coming. Now I don’t have anything; not even clothes,” she lamented.
She said the clothing she had on was the same she had gone to work in on Tuesday. “I washed them at a neighbour last night (Tuesday) and put them back on this morning (Wednesday),” she said.
The vendor, who has been a widow for the past 20 years, says sums of money she owed farmers were also in the house when it went up in flames.
While not being able to estimate her losses at this time, Ramnarine says, her main priority is to be able to get a roof over her head.
She can be contacted on telephone number 675-9448. Meanwhile, the Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire.