Four remaining members of the Teruka family, whose house was destroyed by a fire in 1984, received keys to their new house three years after the tragic incident.
According to an article published by The Fiji Times on May 10, 1987, the $20,000 concrete house at Naboro — on a hilltop half a kilometre away from the fire scene — was built on the generosity of the people of Fiji.
Their house was destroyed on July 2, 1984, by a fire that started with a benzine light.
It had claimed the lives of their father, the Teruka’s two-year-old son, and their eldest daughter, eight-year-old Raini.
Since then, the remaining family members had been living with friends and relatives.
The Fiji Sixes Charity Committee had initially started a public appeal for Borita Teruka and her three daughters with a $1000 contribution.
The public appeal, which was managed by The Fiji Times , garnered the support of the public and raked in another $10,168.
The article said the balance of the money was provided by the insurance and credit union savings of Mr Teruka who was a laboratory assistant at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital.
The family’s finances and construction of the house were administered by the public trustee, Dhirendra Singh.
The house was built by Mr Latchmaiya Naidu of Suva’s William Plumbing Work.
Perched on five-acre hilltop crown lease, overlooking the sea and a hundred acres of lush bushland, the six-metre by nine-metre two-bedroom house was built exactly where the late Mr Teruka had initially planned to build a two-storey family house.
The house was fully furnished with new beds, chairs, and tables.
The Fiji Times general manager at the time, Rex Gardener, presented the keys to the house.
“The country opened its heart in your hour of need, and it was a tremendous expression of generosity and provides us with a great faith in human nature,” he told the family.
“The Fiji Sixes and The Fiji Times were happy to help make a positive contribution to securing the future for you and your daughters.
“While the newspaper have a duty to report the tragedies of life, only by informing people can results such as this be achieved.”
Ms Teruka was especially grateful for the new opportunity to start over.
“We are very happy and thankful to the people of Fiji for their help, thank you to everyone.”
