Grade 6, Yeoville Community School
My name is Thandiwe Ngema but most people call me Thandi. I live in uMthatha, a place in KwaZulu Natal and I was born here. All my life and friendships started here. We’re a family of five and I’m 12 years old.
My life changed after my mom got a job and we had to move. She told us that we were going to live miles away from home and we would be living in a big town.
“I don’t want to go, I want to stay here,” I pleaded. “Stop being stubborn, Thandi. We’ll come back and visit,” my mom said.
I kept on begging her but she didn’t care. My dad came inside.
“Is everybody ready. We’re packed and ready to go,” he said.
“Now!” “But Mom,” I cried. “Stop being a nuisance and get in the car,” my mom demanded.
There was this awkward silence while my young brothers (Anele and Bonele) were annoying me.
It took eight hours to get to our destination. “We’ll be living in a four-bedroomed house in Hillbrow,” my mom said, as excited as possible.
Dad stopped the car and we all got out. It 23:00 pm and the streets were filled with filthy drains, people waiting on corners for their first target to rob.
My dad and brothers finished unpacking the bags and all our furniture. The next day, my mom told me that we’ll be going to a new school. I was so excited to meet new people and have fun. She said I’d start on 3 rd January so I had a week to prepare. I went shopping with my mom the day before the school started. We bought all the things I needed.
The next day I went to school with butterflies in my tummy. When I got in, it looked like everyone was looking at me. I went to my class and sat down until classes started. I’ve been doing this ever since I started school.
Around February, I got a boyfriend. He was three years older than me. He was the brother of Thobile, one of the meanest girls in the class. One day, he said that I was old enough to sleep with him. He said everyone was doing it and I was the only one who wasn’t. I didn’t want to and I was in his room at the time. I said no and was about to get out when he grabbed and pushed me on the bed. He drugged me and I slowly fell asleep. It was hours before I woke up and found myself in my room. I asked my mom what had happened and she told me a kind girl named Thobile said I was at her house and I fell asleep.
I went to her house to thank her but she wasn’t kind at all. She had a video of me being sexually harassed by her brother. She said I should give her R5000 and then she would delete it.
I ran out and started crying. I didn’t want my mom and dad to find out so I had to give her the money. I started thinking of a plan. I would have to lie to my parents saying the money was for a school trip
When I got home, I washed my face and went to my mom. I asked her for the money for a school trip. She asked me where we were going and my heart started pumping quickly.
I lied and said to the water park in Sandton. She went to her purse and gave me the cash. I went to Thobile’s house and gave her the money, took her phone, looked for the video and deleted it.
I was relieved but not for long. When I was watching the video clips on my phone, I saw the video of me on You-Tube and it was going viral. I was so traumatised and couldn’t bear the pain knowing people were watching the video. I ran downstairs, went outside and went into the shed. I ended my life and I was at peace. I was not afraid of what people thought but I was sorry that I could not live out all the dreams I had for myself.