The Kafle sisters, who survived a fire in Waimate that killed their parents and brother, are now living in Christchurch.

Sitting with her orphaned sisters in their new Christchurch home, Tulsi Kafle still imagines her parents are there – she just can't find them.

On the morning of August 5, a fire ripped through the Kafle family's home above their Indian Everest Restaurant in Waimate, South Canterbury.

Mamata, 11, Manisha, 17, and 24-year-old Tulsi Kafle's parents, Tej and Tika, and their younger brother, 8-year-old Prem, died in the blaze.

The Kafle family (left to right): Tulsi, 24, unknown, Manisha, 17, Tej, Mamata, 12, Tika and Prem, 9.

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Four months later, the girls are adjusting to city life in Christchurch. They stayed with relatives before moving into their own Papanui flat a month-and-a-half ago.

They have kept in touch with Waimate friends, but the memories are too painful to return to the town.

John Bisset The Kafle's former home, above their Everest Indian Restaurant in Waimate.

"Maybe later," Tulsi said.

"[We miss] our friends and mostly our parents and brother. It is really hard, we can't sleep without crying all the time. We just imagine them, just we can't find them.

"Waimate's people are really helpful. I miss the community and my friends. We used to have an Indian restaurant and we miss our customers too. The customers were like our friends," Tulsi said.

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/FAIRFAX NZ Manisha, Mamata, and Tulsi Kafle in their Christchurch home. The sisters lost their parents and brother in a fire in Waimate.

Finding herself the matriarch of the family, she tried her best to keep her "very helpful" sisters happy.

"It is really, really difficult for us. We are trying to do our best but it is really hard.

"My mum used to do everything for us and now we need to do everything – get up and get ready for school and come back after 3pm and make our lunch.

KIRK KARGREAVES/FFAIRFAX NZ The three sisters speak about the fire back in August.

"We need to eat late lunches. Before we used to eat early, because mum and dad used to make it for us," Tulsi said.

"We are getting help from our uncles. Everyday he [uncle Bishnu Kafle] comes here, he picks up my sister."

Tulsi will finish studying English at CPIT in February and then will start a pre-health course.

Manisha is studying at Papanui High School. Mamata is enrolled at Papanui Primary.

Compared to Waimate, the sisters had found Christchurch "really busy", Tulsi said.

"We don't go anywhere. We go to my uncle's place and if we go far away we go to the mall for something. We just go to school and come back here," she said.

More than $100,000 was raised for the sisters after the deadly blaze.

Without that help, starting again would have been near impossible, Tulsi said.

"We were dependant on our parents. If all Waimate's people didn't help us, we think we would be a little bit worried. But we are fine for everything. We will be fine for our education and other stuff."

Life felt "empty" without Prem around, she said.

"I'll never forget him. It is really hard to forget. We were together all the time.

Tulsi was proud of her sisters' progress since August.

"I want my sisters to get a good education and to get good skills and they can do anything," she said.

The sisters hope to go to Nepal next August, a year on from the fatal fire, to "do something for my mum and dad and brother".

"I want to say thank you for everyone who helped us and encouraged us. I would like to say thank you for Waimate's community and everyone from all of New Zealand. Thank you."