Family of toddler who drowned in Hawkesbury River now homeless after being told they can no longer live on yacht
The family of a toddler who drowned after falling from their houseboat in the Hawkesbury River claim they are now homeless.
Zeinobiyah Soetekouw, three, drowned in the river earlier this month after she fell from the family’s houseboat.
The toddler lived on the family’s seven-metre yacht, Sumbawa, with her parents and 10 siblings. The family, from Tasmania, has been travelling around Australia on the vessel since December 2016.
On Sunday, mum Rebecca posted on Instagram that the family can no longer call Sumbawa home.
“Child services won’t let us move back onto Sumbawa,” she wrote.
“They have deemed it too small. So now we have lost the only place that we called home for the last two and a half years.”
Ms Soetekouw claims the family has been in emergency housing for three weeks.
In a post on the family’s blog, she added the ordeal has left her “devastated, angry, heartbroken, sad, sick and feeling beaten”.
“We were emotionally ruined,” she wrote.
“We haven’t had any time to just sit and grieve. We haven’t had any time to just bond as a family, and talk about our life now. We haven’t had anytime, to find ourselves now – in any way.
“This is not what we wanted.”
The family claims the boat also needs maintenance but “everyone wants to go back to the water”.
The family is now brainstorming about where they can set up a permanent home.
‘Beautiful’, ‘perfect’ memorial for Zeinobiyah
Last Friday, the family held a memorial to farewell little Zeinobiyah.
In a blog several days after the emotional event, Rebecca and partner Steve thanked the community.
“We want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has helped us and sent us such wonderful wishes over the past week and a half,” the post read.
“We had Zeinobiyah’s memorial on Friday and it was beautiful and perfect.
“So I wanted to send a massive thank you to everyone involved that just went way out to support and help us.”
A GoFundMe page for the family has raised more than $6000 in just over two weeks.
Yahoo News Australia has contacted NSW Family and Community Services for comment.
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