Fundraising efforts for a family who ‘lost everything’ in the recent Cape fires, has turned somewhat controversial, with some of the community requesting donation refunds.

According to the Fire Relief Williams Home public page on Facebook:

In the early hours of Wed, 4 Mar the devastating fire sweeping the Peninsula destroyed the home of the Williams family. They lost not only the home they’d redesigned, built up & renovated but also all their personal belongings & are in desperate need of assistance. Their home and contents were not insured.

Besides assisting with replacing the basics, any money donated will assist in demolishing what remains of the house and clearing the property- an important part of the healing process.

All Rob and Diana Williams and their children have left is their income generating guest cottage on Almondbury Lane, Steenberg.

Some more background:

Whilst the circumstances are nothing short of tragic, the bible’s concept of ‘love thy neighbor’ (Matthew 22: 36-40) seems to have gone off course this time in Tokai. Ironic, given the suburb’s reputation for swinging.

According to discussions and comments made on Facebook, some of the wider Tokai (often pronounced ‘tor’ + ‘kai) community believe some of the family’s claims were ‘inaccurate’ and ‘sensationalist.’

Although the family has clearly been devastated by these events, sympathy was reserved, as questions quickly arose as to why they hadn’t insured their house. People also highlighted the fact that the house was fully paid for.

Here’s a pic of the house before the fire.

Some people who have donated, have requested their money back.

 

Some commenters also have reason to believe the family is ‘well connected’ and ‘asset rich’ – with no need for handouts.

Fundraising efforts have extended offline as well, with the following flyer distributed to homes in the surrounding area.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Williams family and to all those who suffered loss of any sort over the last couple of weeks.

You can donate to the Williams family here and here and check out their Facebook page here.

These things can always be quite sensitive, especially when it starts to spiral as this one has.

What are your thoughts? Are the Williams family any less deserved of funds and relief, just because they had an uninsured bond-free house and an income generating guest cottage on Almondbury Lane in Steenberg?