Members of Studiemeester, a Boksburg-based company, joined rape survivor Leilani Kuter (45) during her Shine the Spotlight On Survival challenge on September 30.
Kuter, who lives in Roodepoort, was raped and left for dead when she was 18 years old.
Now, 27 years later, Kuter is speaking out about her ordeal by walking 27km a day in every city for 27 days, with the aim of empowering young women affected by sexual assault and gender-based violence.
So far, she has walked in Pretoria and Bela Bela, among other places, since September 16.
In the coming weeks she will be embarking on her journey to places such as Mpumalanga, Randburg and other areas until October 12, when her total distance will be 729km.
While the Studiemeester team completed Kuter’s walk, Leading Lady SA treated her to a massage and hair wash.
Kuter’s friend, Leonie Marques from Studiemeester, said: “The reason why we invited her to walk in Boksburg was that we wanted to spoil her because her feet were in a bad condition due to the long walks she usually takes.
“We walked some of her kilometres so that she could relax and get massaged because she’s doing a great initiative. I don’t think anyone else can do what she does.”
Lesley-Ray Coetzer from Leading Lady SA said: “This is our way of giving back to her for being a voice for the voiceless by speaking out against gender-based violence.”
Coetzer said Kuter’s story hits home because it’s similar to her experience, which took place in 2017.
“I was also brutally assaulted in my house,” Coetzer said.
Kuter, who wears yellow during her walks, which signifies the colour her perpetrator wore when she was attacked, also runs a BackaBuddy campaign.
Her campaign, launched on a crowdfunding platform, raises funds for purchasing emergency comfort packs, which cost R200.
“These packs will be given to young girls when they report cases of sexual assault. Additional funds will be used to help as many women as possible who are in need of rehabilitation and counselling.”
The campaign went live on August 14 and has so far raised just over R207 000 towards the fund-raising target of R270 000, with contributions from just over 70 donors.
“With my campaign I hope to honour young women like Uyinene Mrwetyana, Jesse Hess, Leighandre Jegels, Lynette Volschenk and Megan Cremer, who lost their lives due to senseless acts of violence.”
Kuter encouraged women who have been raped to report rape or sexual assault crimes and seek help.
“You can’t just sit and feel suicidal, but go out there and seek help because everyone deserves a happy life,” Kuter said.
Leading Lady SA donated R5 000 towards the campaign.
To support Kuter’s worthy course visit www.backabuddy.co.za/leilani-kuter.
