A family in the remote First Nation community in Peawanuck, Ont., is dealing not only with the death of their young daughter, but the loss of everything they owned in a Jan. 28 house fire.
Ten people lived in the Wabano family home. JC, the couple’s 10-year-old daughter, was killed in the fire. The family is now temporarily living in the band office.
Weenusk First Nation is an isolated Cree community in the Kenora District, which is part of the Mushkegowuk Council, about 35 kilometres from the Winisk River’s end in Hudson Bay. Its population is less than 300 people.
Retired OPP sergeant Randy Cota and his wife Betty Crawford have set up a GoFundMe page in hopes of helping the family find a new place to live
“Beautiful people,” Cota said of the family, who are suffering on many levels following the tragedy.
He said in a community where everyone knows everyone else, the fire sent a “ripple effect that goes all the way down the coastline.”
“We’d really like to see them get (help.) They’re living at the band office right now, with no privacy,” he said.
“It’s just devastating, you know, to lose a little daughter and then to be homeless with only the clothes on your back. (But) that’s the true meaning community and caring for ones that are less fortunate. We have to step up, right?”
Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus tweeted about the tragedy on Monday.
“My deepest sympathies to the Wabano family who lost a child in a house fire this past weekend,” Angus said.
“There was no fire fighting services in the community of Peawanuck. This is (a) tragedy that cannot be allowed to happen again.”
And the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority appealed for donations to help the family.
“We are reaching out to ask if anyone would be willing to donate clothing, jackets, and boots to assist them during this difficult time,” the group said on its Facebook page.
