Latest update November 8th, 2024 1:00 AM
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Fire ravages Canje house while victims attend church
By Leon Suseran
Faith in the midst of tragedy: Doreen Sutherland and relatives sing praises to the Lord despite losing her home
Five persons were left homeless after a mid-morning fire destroyed their two- storey home at Lot 66 King Street, Cumberland Village, East Canje, Berbice.
The victims were attending a church service at the Bethel Prayer and Praise Church in New Amsterdam home when misfortune struck.
Relatives tried to contact them as soon as the fire had started but their mobile phones were turned off.
Those left homeless are Doreen Sutherland, 43, and her four children, Natoya Bart, Shana Bart, Elroy Bart and Sheamo Bart, all of whom have been residing at the house for eight years.
The blaze began shortly after 10:30hrs and scores of persons rushed to the conflagration to get a closer look at the massive blaze which could have been seen from villages away.
Firefighters attempted to put out the blaze but the fire tenders quickly ran out of water. Chaos reined as the firefighters tried to access water from nearby drains.
During this commotion, the fire had engulfed the building and onlookers feared that it would have spread to a small house nearby.
It was shortly after this when the family arrived from church after being alerted by a family member about their misfortune.
But to the amazement of the onlookers, Doreen Sutherland stood before what was left of her home and sang songs of praise to her Lord.
“The Lord will restore it all”, she said. “My God is a great God!” she exclaimed, after which she. Her sister also joined in the singing and praising.
“The Lord knows!”, she shouted with her arms wide opened praising and giving thanks.
Sutherland told Kaieteur News that she had left the refrigerator and a stabilizer on, something she usually did when she went out.
She said the father of the children lived somewhere else and that she did odd jobs with Guyana Power & Light (GPL) and other places.
She added that she and the children had been at church attending a Father’s Day programme and her sister telephoned her with news of the fire. She said that she lost everything and does not know how she will start over again but that “the Lord knows”.
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