Everson Luhanga
She says she was raped more than 10 times by different men.
But that only made her stronger.
Now Gabisile is a caregiver, looking after 150 children who have been abandoned or rejected or have disabilities.
Gabisile is also a singer. And the little money that she makes from singing feeds her children as she is not funded by the government.
Her children’s home relies on handouts from well-wishers.
In an interview with Scrolla.Africa at her home in Tembisa, Gabisile recounted her awful younger days.
•. Her uncle raped her when she was eight years old.
• He used to take her to her granny’s house and raped her there “as many times as I can remember.”
• She still has a vivid memory of his “ugly big hands covering my mouth when I tried to scream for help.”
Gabisile said her uncle opened the flood gate of evil rape spirits — and more men have raped her over time.
She said during school holidays when she was playing with other children, a distant neighbour would come and pick her up.
“He would buy me sweets and take me to the bushes on top of a huge rock to rape me. He raped me almost every day when I didn’t go to school.”
When she was 15 years old, she visited a friend in Pretoria, where a random man raped her in a toilet.
Gabisile said she was also raped by her aunt’s boyfriend at the filling station’s toilet.
“I was raped more than 10 times. But it did not kill me. It made me strong.”
Gabisile said she knows the pain of being rejected and not experiencing a mothers’ love. That is why she is now taking care of 150 children.
She is an anti-abuse activist and condemns every activity that deprives children of the privilege of growing up in a safe environment.
She feeds, educates, protects, empowers and supports the children under her care at the Siyazigabisa Home.
Up next: Gabisile’s dancing side of life …
