By Sue-Ann Wayow
SEVERAL organisations are stepping in to support the family of the three children who tragically died in a fire on Monday.
Ezekiel Burke, 17, and his two siblings, ages six and three were burnt to death in the early morning fire at Rookery Nook, Maraval.
The Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago and the Ministry of Education extended its condolences to the family, friends and the community on Monday.
In a press release by the authority, director Nichola Harvey-Mitchell said, “The loss of these children is devastating for the families and the national community and the Authority will do its part to support the family. The authority has been collaborating with stakeholders to provide the necessary interventions that will allow the family to begin the process of healing.”
The authority’s emergency response team has joined other agencies within the Child Protection Sector to offer support to the parents and their two surviving children.
Well mannered and ambitious
Burke was a Form Five pupil of the Blanchisseuse Secondary School. His sister Jenecia Burke, 15 is also a Form 4 pupil of the school.
Education Ministers Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly and Lisa Morris-Julian extended condolences to the family.
Officers of the Students Support Services Division (SSSD) of the Ministry of Education have been contacted and have already scheduled virtual counselling sessions for Jenecia and classmates, the ministry stated in a release on Tuesday.
Principal of the Blanchisseuse Secondary School, Hashim Johnson has also contacted officers of the Employees Assistance Programme (EAP) to provide counselling for the teachers of the school. Johnson said Ezekiel Burke was a well-mannered, ambitious, and respectful student and will be greatly missed by his peers and teachers. 
Witnesses to a crime
And the authority also noted that two children were witnesses to a crime over the weekend in which 70-year-old John Smith was shot and killed.
Harvey-Mitchell stated the authority has also intervened to provide support to the children.
She said “The authority is collaborating with the Victim and Witness Support Unit of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and is working with the family to provide a safe and stable environment for the children.”
The authority believes that keeping children safe is of paramount importance and is encouraging families and the national community to work together to ensure the safety and well-being of children, so they can achieve their full potential.
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