Sydney cleaner, Belma Wilson has lost everything in a fire that destroyed her home and left her husband with burns to 30 per cent of his body.
Ms Wilson, 49, told The Australian Women’s Weekly she was distraught but very lucky to be staying in a friend’s tiny studio apartment with her three children.
“We don’t have the documents. Our passports and everything … all gone,” Ms Wilson said.
“The clothes we wore on that day are all we have. We’re back to zero again.”
Attempts by The Weekly to assist the family failed last night as NSW Emergency Housing admitted that without any documentation the department, like Centrelink was unable to assist.
Instead The Weekly was referred to Sydney Multicultural Community Services, a non-Government body set up to assist where families who did not speak English as a first language.
However, at the time of publication they could not be contacted.
The family, which is in shock, is living on the assistance of friends who have donated food but they have no possessions.
Ms Wilson said she was initially unable to see her husband in hospital because the children were so traumatised by the event.
She has since been to the hospital and spoken to the doctors who say the 73-year-old has burns to 30 percent of his body and will be in hospital for three to six months as he undergoes painful skin grafts.
The Filipino born mother came to Australia after her first husband died of a heart attack.
She has two sons and a daughter.
“The thing is we’re alive. That’s the most important thing.”
Although very little is known about the fire at the home in Stony Creek Road, Kingsgrove media reports at the time claimed “LPG was involved”.
“I went to work at 9 o’clock and the children were all in the church having choir practice. At one o’clock my friend called and said ‘your house is burning’. I didn’t know what to do and then suddenly the police rung me.”
The family has had no further contact with the authorities about the cause of the blaze which is also hampering their efforts to secure any emergency assistance.
Her eldest son Bon, 20, who works as a cable assembler said: “We’re still waiting for the police to come back. We keep calling them to find out what actually happened but we’re still waiting.”
Anyone who wishes to donate to the Wilson family please contact us at 02 9282 8120 or email [email protected].
