Grade 9, Pride Learning Academy
They say “Wathinta abafazi, Wathita imbokodo.” But what happens when the rock is only fifteen years old? When she’s not yet a rock but just a girl trying to become one?
Lerato was that girl, she lived in a small township on the outskirts of Gqeberha, in a tiny RDP house with peeling walls, the smell of gas stoves, and sounds of kids playing soccer in the dusty streets. Her life was simple: her mother worked in a supermarket and her father had died years ago in a car accident. She was smart at school and helped with household chores, and she was someone filled with love, but they say love isn’t enough to protect you from the dangers of the world.
Her mother met a man called Nkosinathi. He was charming at first and took care of them like they were his own children. Lerato tried to like him, but she could not let anyone take her father’s place. Eventually he showed his true colours. Nkosinathi’s voice became thunder in their home; he shouted often, broke plates, and banged doors. Lerato once saw her mother with a scar on her back. When she asked her mother with a trembling voice about it, she just smiled and said, “Ngikahle mntanami, do not worry.” But Lerato was worried a storm was brewing in their house, and she was stuck inside of it.
One night, when her mother had gone to buy bread and her little brothers were sleeping, Lerato was in the kitchen when Nkosinathi walked in. He was drunk and he smelled of cigarettes and beer. Hovering inside the kitchen, he stood behind her and said, “You’re becoming a beautiful young lady.” Lerato’s whole body erupted with goosebumps. Then he came closer and grabbed her by her waist. She pushed him away and ran to her room, locking the door as her heart pounded like it was going to explode.
The next day she told her mother, but she said, “No Lerato, you must be mistaken. He wouldn’t do such a thing.” That response immediately broke her heart; she felt like they took her soul from her. She stopped smiling and her school marks dropped. The girl who once had a bright and beautiful smile now seemed like she was in a nightmare with monsters in it. Eventually someone saw her pain, and that was her life orientation teacher, Ma’am Dlamini. She noticed the change one afternoon, and she asked Lerato to stay behind after school. “My child, I can see that there is something bothering you. I’m here, talk to me,” she said caringly.
Lerato was tired of the pain and she finally let go. She cried so much that Ma’am Dlamini felt pity for her. With the help of the school and a social worker, Lerato told her story again. This time people listened, the police was involved, and Nkosinathi was arrested. Lerato and her family were taken to a place far away from Gqeberha where she met with girls who had been through the same thing. Her mother held her and said, “Ngiyoxolisa Sthandwa sami, I was scared, I should have protected you.”
Lerato forgave her because forgiveness was part of healing. When she returned to school, she came back different and stronger, but still soft and kind and with the same fire in her eyes. At one school assembly she stood in front of the hall and said, “I was hurt by someone who was supposed to love me and protect me, but I survived the storm, so if you are going through something, speak up, you are not alone, so don’t be afraid.” The hall was filled with silence, and then someone clapped, then another and soon the hall erupted.
The school started a club called Don’t Be Afraid. They met every Friday after school in their classroom. Years later, Lerato passed matric and went to university to study. She became an activist for children’s and women’s rights and opened a NGO for girls like herself. She never forgot what she had been went through, because she was “Hie imbokodo” the brave!