Ukulele boy loses ukuleles, home to fire; mom seeks help to rebuild their house

Photo from Jonlie’s Facebook account.

CEBU CITY, Philippines— Remember the viral “ukulele boy” who stole hearts online with his talent in playing the ukulele?

Read more: Viral ‘Ukulele Boy’ identified. Meet Jonlie ‘Tongli’ Cabradilla, 11

Well, a tragic event happened to his family weeks before Christmas day.

Chan Jonlie Cabradilla, 12, the famous ukulele boy was one of the victims of that fire that hit Barangay Lawaan III in Talisay City last December 9.

Read more: Unplugged appliance may have caused Talisay City fire that left 196 individuals homeless

Jojie Cabranilla, mother of Jonlie, told CDN Digital about what happened during that fateful night.

“Gikan mi nagcaroling mi ato unya na uli mi mga gabii na. Dayon natulog na mi, unya nikalit lang og siyagit among silingan og sunog. Didto nakamata mi sa akong bana daling gipukaw among mga anak og nang gawas,” recalls Jojie.

(We had just finished caroling and it was late in the night when we arrived home. We were just about to sleep when we heard our neighbor shout, fire. My husband and I quickly got up and woke our children, who were then mostly asleep, and we all went outside.)

When the family got out of the house, it was only then that we saw that the house beside their home was already on fire.

“Ni gawas mi dayon, wala gyud mi nadala bisan sanina among mga ukulele tanan na sunog,” adds Jojie.

(We hurriedly went outside and we had no chance to gather our things, even our clothes including my ukuleles, they were all destroyed by the fire.)

She also told CDN Digital that as of now they had started to rebuild their house in Sitio Upper Cadicay, Barangay Lawaan III, Talisay City, but they still had a lot to do before it could be finished.

“Namalhin mi una nag pasko pero wala pa gyud na human kay kuwang among mga materyales kay kuwang among kwarta, ang gig ra ni Jonlie sa Yap-Sandiego nga kwarta among gi gamit aron maka sugod pahimo sa balay,” says Jojie.

(We moved (to the evacuation center at the gym) before Christmas but our house had yet to be rebuilt because we still don’t have enough money to buy materials for it. We only used the money saved from Jonlie’s gig at Yap-Sandiego so that we can start rebuilding our house.)

Read more: ‘Ukulele boy’ now away from streets, playing in Cebu City museum

Now, the family needs help to finish their home.

“Sa tanang adunay malumo nga kasingkasing bisan unsa nga hinabang dawaton namo kay wala gyud mi masalbar sa sunog,” pleads Jojie.

(To those who have a kind heart, we seek your help — any assistance will do because we lost everything to the fire.)

Jonlie, who still plays at the Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House on the weekends, uses his uncle’s ukulele for the meantime.

Cebu, let’s help Jonlie, ukulele boy, and his family get back on their feet, again.  /dbs