While the rest of the country was celebrating Easter, one family in Vhembe was trying to pick up the pieces of their lives, following the destruction of their five-roomed house by a huge tree.

The Makungo family of Tshisahulu Gombameni is now homeless and very desperate as they do not have the means to rebuild their house since no one is working in the family. The owner of the house, Ms Esther Makungo (53), said the destruction of their house shattered their dreams as they had saved for many years for the house. She said her husband, Daniel Makungo, who was in Moria at the time of the incident, also took out a loan while still working way back in 1999 for the construction of the house.

“It is only luck that we were not crushed inside the house. A few minutes earlier I was in the house and, moments later, when I was outside doing my laundry, the whole house was flattened by this huge tree. We just thank God that my two children and I are still alive today,” she said.

The nasty and shocking incident happened on the Saturday morning. To make matters worse, the family members had to run for dear life when a huge swarm of bees attacked them and their neighbours. Pointing to a swelling on her face, Makungo said she did not know what to do. “My house fell and most of my furniture was destroyed and I do not even have money to repair all the damage.

Just have a look - I am from the shop to buy this mealie meal for R33. If I had money I would have bought a bigger bag, but because of poverty in the family, there is nothing we can do. We really need help,” she said.
During Mirror’s visit, some community members and relatives arrived to console the family.