Two families in Kongola have lost everything in a fire that started while they were at church.

Nora Samba, a 38-year-old woman from Tulikonge Village in the Mwanzi area, is the most affected after all three houses in her courtyard burned to ashes.

Samba was told upon arriving from church that the fire had allegedly started from the neighbour's house and caught and spread to her thatched roof.

The unemployed mother of seven and one grandchild said that she has no way of recovering her belongings, including her children's school uniforms and books.

Samba and her eight dependents are now squeezed into a single room in her sister's courtyard while she tries to come to terms with the ordeal and get back on her feet.

Samba's neighbour, Elina Kangumu, where the fire allegedly started, says she is devastated and doesn't know where to begin to assist her neighbours, as she herself is unable to recover her grandson's belongings, which also burned after his hut caught fire.

The fire is said to have started in Kangumu's sleeping hut while she was at the riverside all morning.

The 87-year-old claims that on the day of the fire, because it was windy outside, the kids at home used the space as a cooking area.

The hut burned down along with all her clothing, bed, and other items inside.

Despite her own loss, Kangumu is more worried about her neighbours and her grandson, a student in grade 10 who is getting ready for exams.

The families say they have reached out to the constituency councillor and hope they will receive assistance as well as additional help from anyone else willing to aid them.