Gran Couva amputee homeless after fire, wants help to rebuild house

An elderly man who lost his home to fire on Friday afternoon and is now homeless is pleading with Good Samaritans to help him build a new home.

Ernest "John" Roderique, who turns 70 in September, said he lost everything and does not have money to rebuild a structure on his own.

Roderique, an amputee, lives at Boissiere Road in Gran Couva.

"Right now, I am staying next door with my (deceased) brother’s wife and their family. Everybody has their own problems. If I get help with some materials, I would make it on my own. I know what I want, but I do not have the strength to build or money to buy anything," Roderique told Newsday on Saturday.

He recalled that a few years ago, he got a cut on one of the toes on his left foot. Years later, in 2011, doctors discovered cancer in the leg and amputated it to prevent it from spreading to other body parts.

The grandfather of 13 uses a wheelchair, and his youngest son Randy Roderique, 40, lives with him.

The fire, Roderique said, started shortly after 2 pm on Friday. He and his son had left the two-bedroom ply house moments earlier to go to a supermarket in Couva. When they returned, they saw the house destroyed and fire officers at the scene.

"We went to change my pension cheque. On our way back, we stopped to get KFC. When we reached, I saw a red van in front of my house. The house was old, so I know it would not have taken long to burn down," Roderique said.

"I have been living in that house since 1962. I leave that house once a month to change my cheque. I am still confused. They said it started in the front bedroom, but I hardly go into that room. I have nothing to wear except what I have on now. I am still confused about what caused the fire."

He said he recently spent about a month at the San Fernando General Hospital owing to body aches.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

Gran Couva police and Couva fire officers are continuing investigations.

Anyone who wants to help Roderique can call Newsday at 607-4929 or e-mail this reporter at lwilliams@newsday.co.tt.