Leilani walks for those who can’t

Leilani Kuter is a passionate and dedicated activist known for her walks with the Yellow For Survivors, an organisation she founded for victims and survivors of gender-based violence. Leilani has an infectious smile and exudes the kind of positive attitude you cannot get enough of. She believes in taking control of one’s life and always focusing on the positive.

There was a time when she did not live by that philosophy. In 1992 she was brutally raped and left for dead. She acknowledged that the rape changed her but she tried to move on with her life. “Someone said to me one day ‘Do you realise you only wear black?’ I was obviously grieving and I didn’t realise it. We go through things and we think we are okay but we’re really not.” She went through her 20s barely talking about her ordeal. “If I did mention it, I would always refer to ‘the incident’. I could not use the word ‘rape’ for many years – for 10 years, actually.”

The Little Falls residents struggled with suicidal thoughts and even attempted to commit suicide four times. “I am very grateful today that I wasn’t successful.” There is a lot of judgement and stigma around suicide, and Leilani admits that her attempts were never because she actually wanted her life to end. “I’ve never wanted to die, I just didn’t want to feel the way I did. I was in such a dark place, and I felt very unloved and depressed.”

In 2019 she founded the NPC, Yellow For Survivors, yellow being the colour of the T-shirt the rapist wore. She said she decided to make something beautiful with the colour and turn that negative into positive change. “We raise funds for rape crisis centres and to give free self-defence classes in disadvantaged areas and schools. There are also the dedication walks I do to create awareness and help people talk about their experiences.”

Leilani illuminates that her organisation supports all victims of abuse and violence, irrespective of gender. She is just as dedicated to raising awareness for men who have been raped or abused. “I met a lady whose son committed suicide because he was raped and his own father didn’t believe him. Men are not supposed to talk about this, but why? I get angry when people don’t think men get raped. We really need to have that education from a young age,” she suggested.

The activist is currently preparing to walk 38 kilometres in honour of Reeva Steenkamp, who was shot and killed by former paralympian Oscar Pistorius. “She would have turned 38 this year. We will be walking in Pretoria.” She has done over 1 800km dedication walks since and believes walking is just as therapeutic for her as it is for the people she walks for.
Contact Yellow for Survivors on 071 883 3346/ 082 686 5703