‘There’s nothing left’ — Meal After School's Makhanda premises burn down

The remains of Limise Gagayi's house and premises of 'Meal After School' after it burnt down on Monday, 5 April. (Photo: Supplied)

By Lillian Roberts

8 May 2025

‘Every time I open my eyes in the middle of the night, I see my house burn,’ says Meal After School founder Limise Gagayi.

Daily Maverick visited Meal After School in December 2024, during the festive Christmas lunch, which celebrated the children’s pass rates. Children from primary school to high school were tutored and fed at Limise Gagayi’s house, and community gardens had been set up for food security and sharing in the area.

Limise Gagayi's house and the premises of Meal After School burn down on Monday, 5 April. (Sreengrab: Supplied)

On Monday, 5 April, Gagayi’s family house and the premises of Meal After School in Makhanda, Eastern Cape — an informal NGO that tutors children and provides a meal after school — burnt down in an isolated incident.

“There’s not much I can say as the matter is still with SAPS. The matter is still being investigated, as to how the fire started,” Limise Gagayi told Daily Maverick.

“I was on my way from work, and as I was approaching my house, I saw a lot of people standing closer to my gate — it was chaotic. And the kids from Meal After School shouting, saying ‘the house is burning’. I approached the house – it was on fire,” said Gagayi, her voice breaking as she recalled the sight.

Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after she arrived home, but the house was already at the point of collapse. Community members had been trying to quell the blaze with their own water tanks and hosepipes.

Her dogs survived the fire that engulfed her brick and corrugated iron house, but her family lost everything. Three dogs are temporarily housed at the SPCA in Makhanda, and she could take only one little dog to her daughter's house, where she stays for the moment. Her husband, Madixole, is living with his siblings.

Meal After School had been equipped with a biodigestor, which uses cow dung and waste to create methane, which powers the stove. Gagayi had named it Manqoba, which means “the one who conquers in hopeless situations”.

‘Nothing left except us’

“Everything went down, the water tanks, everything that I can think of. All my sentimentals burnt down. There’s nothing left except us.”

The remains of Limise Gagayi’s house and the premises of Meal After School after it was destroyed by fire on Monday, 5 April. (Photo: Supplied)

No formal funding has been set up to help the family rebuild, but Gagayi said that HiTec, a local security company in Makhanda, talked to her about setting up a fund.

“By God’s grace, there were no other families affected. It was only my house and my family. I can’t even begin to express the feelings I have right now. Days are not the same, time is not the same, every minute is not the same. The one time I feel stronger, the other times I don’t.”

“It’s so devastating. I wasn’t sleeping since that day, up until I went to the doctor. Every time I open my eyes in the middle of the night, I see my house burn and everything in it. Actually, I was just left with myself and what I was wearing. Everything else was on fire.”

On Wednesday, a local high school, Kingswood College, rallied to feed the children outside the remnants of Gagayi’s house.

“But I just thank God that in spite of that, there are still people that believe in me and my vision. So Kingswood really came to my rescue. When I saw them coming yesterday, bringing food for the kids, that actually made me feel so excited. Seeing those kids with tears in their eyes, some of them asking, ‘Where are you sleeping? Are you safe? Are you okay?’ I’m talking about the kids that are 10 years, eight years old.”

“As they [the kids] were following me on that day of the fire, thinking that they are coming to have food, and they find the place that they know gives them hope, in burning fire… So I can’t really tell you how I’m feeling… I’m just entirely depending on God right now.”

Meal After School began when a family friend sent her R800 to help with her family’s financial struggles during Covid. Gagayi used R300 to start a soup kitchen for the community of eThembeni in Makhanda. DM

Categories:

Tags:

DM is much better if you are signed in...

South Africa

‘Nothing left except us’