Ngidi has suffered and endured abuse, she shared her painful journey with Mpumalanga News.
“My mother was everything to us as a single parent. After my mom died, we had to move to my grandmother’s place. Honestly, life became unbearable when my uncle was released from prison on parole. At the time, I was working as a dental assistant earning enough to support the household, but he made our lives difficult.”
Ngidi fell pregnant, but the father of the child left her and she had even more to deal with. “My grandmother did not have any sort of power over my uncle, especially when he was under the influence of alcohol. He came home one evening and started breaking things in the house. Using an axe, he destroyed the fridge I had bought with my hard-earned money, claiming I had bought it with prostitution money. “Knives were flicked, resulting in my son sustaining minor injuries that night,” she said tearfully.
Physical fights became a norm in the house and Maria decided to put an end to the abuse.
“I opened a case against my uncle but I later had to withdraw the charges because my grandmother was hurt by the ordeal. I did not understand why she had to ask someone to convince me to withdraw the case. I felt betrayed and alone.
Human rights activist, Yvette Raphael believes there is no way to heal from emotional abuse other than to forgive and move on. “It is 2016 and things have changed. So if you cannot forgive people for whatever wrongs they have done to you, then you will be putting yourself in an awkward position. Some things cannot be undone, but as human beings, we have the power to change this world for the better.”
Maria is currently renting a room- two streets away from her grandmother’s house- with her siblings and son. “I’m slowly picking up the pieces, but I am glad to have influential people who contribute positively to my life. I will continue working closely with my community as I am passionate and I have forgiven my uncle because everything happens for a reason. My ultimate goal is to study further and to spark change in every person going through a bad time. I’m glad I found inner peace – I gave myself space to cry- I let it all go!”
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