Scores of community members and well-wishers lent their support to the family of 3-year-old Zhaiyan Peter, who perished in a house fire on August 7th, 2024.

A community member and family friend, Rawle Vitalis, says the Praslin Community is shaken and is finding it difficult to come to terms with Zhaiyan’s passing.

“The community is still mourning right now, because we can't believe this happened right here, during the day. We're taking it very hard right now,” he said. 

Zhaiyan’s father, Levon Mathurin, remembers his son fondly as a child who loved playing with toys and who had a love of excavators.

“He likes excavators, so that was his main thing. He would be in my tools, he would always go in it. I think I will miss everything, especially as I was not there at the time of the death. It's just so hard,” he explained emotionally.

The deceased’s grandfather, Samson Peter, thanked the community for their outpouring of support. He says this support has held the family together during this difficult time.

“People from all over came and supported us. That's really great. I'll always be strong because of the support I get. If it wasn't for that, I'll be breaking down,” he explained.

The toddler was reportedly asleep when the fire started. Despite their best efforts, family members could not extinguish the fire in time.

In addition to losing one of their members, the Peter family of 7 lost their wooden dwelling alongside all their possessions.

A GoFundMe was also created for well-wishers to donate towards rebuilding efforts. The target is $USD 7000 and https://gofund.me/4baed06a is the link.