EXODUS Funeral Services in Bulawayo has said it would foot all the
bills in the burial of the three people who perished in a fire that
gutted an Emakhandeni house on Monday morning.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
The company’s manager Winnie Ndlovu said they had been moved by the
tragedy and had decided to address the plight of the family members, who
desperately needed help to give the victims a decent burial.
“We went to talk to the bereaved family yesterday and we saw the sad
situation there. They had nothing, from food to the coffins,” she said.
“We then assured them that we would take care of each and every
burial preparation, including the provision of coffins, three funeral
hearses, transport for the mourners, a church service and food. And it
will all be free of charge.”
Ndlovu said the company had also embalmed the bodies for the burial,
including transferring them from the hospital mortuary to the funeral
palour yesterday.
“We were concerned about the state of the bodies at the hospital
mortuary and as soon as the family gives us the necessary documentation,
we would transfer them to the palour in Kelvin North,” she said.
Exodus sales and marketing manager Liberty Dzimwasha said the gesture
was no publicity stunt, but they were doing it for the community.
“We decided to lend a helping hand since we are in this funeral
services business. We had to reach out to the bereaved family in their
time of need,” he said.
“We hope all organisations would do the same and not shy away from
such corporate responsibilities. Developments such as these cannot go
unnoticed.”
Prior to the gesture from the company, the family’s spokesperson,
Luckson Mudinzwa, had said the burial of the three victims had initially
been set for today or tomorrow, but there was a possibility of it being
postponed due to inadequate resources.
“After the family discussions concerning the burial, it is now very
difficult at the moment to set a definite day for the burial, as we have
not yet received enough support in terms of resources for the burial
arrangement,” he had said.
Meanwhile, the Bulawayo City Council’s Fire Brigade is yet to
ascertain the cause of the fire that killed Chipo Mudinzwa (58), her
29-year-old daughter, Christine and son Cleopas (37) who were sleeping
in the house when it caught fire.
According to reletives and neighbours, the cause of the fire is still
a mystery to them, although they suspect supernatural causes, with
reports that one of the deceased, Cleopas claimed he had seen goblins in
the house on several occasions, threatening to burn him.
In an interview with Southern Eye yesterday, the department’s senior
divisional officer Edward Mpofu said the cause of the fire was a mystery
and they had since recorded it as such.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/08/29/exodus-funeral-services-pays-bills-fire-victims/
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