Teen daughter’s silence broken

The Bombshell

Imagine your 14 year old daughter, coming to tell you, that she was raped by your husband's 17 year old son...

Imagine she tells you, that she have a witness, but the witness turns out to be her other rapist...

Imagine, not knowing what to do, say or feel??? Expected to react, but your mind is a blank & your heart is racing...

Our Nightmare

Our 14 year old daughter came to us on 26 July 2017 , with a bombshell. We were still reeling with worry about my husband's 17 year old son, running away from home, for the second time. She informed us through tears streaming down her face, that my husband's 17 year old son, was raping her since she was 8 years old. Not only that, she told us that there's a witness. He turned out to be her cousin, who also raped her,under duress of my husband's son. She was 9 when her cousin violated her. How do I know this? He admitted to everything, over a 511 message conversation, over WhatsApp messenger. That day , my heart died. I ran to the bathroom to throw up. My husband's son grew up in foster care, but was placed with us at the age of 10 years old. We were struggling with nonstop, behavioural problems.

We are currently in the middle of a Court case , which is causing our family to fall apart emotionally, psychologically & Financially. The aftermath of our family's nightmare, is unforseen expenses eg extra transport expenses, electricity expenses, water expenses. Why?? Our daughter was forced to transfer to a new school, as her perpetrator, was harassing & intimidating our family. He refused to adhere to his bail conditions, by coming to our residential area. Then I frantically approached the court for a protection order. This too , he blatantly ignored. Not only our 14 year old daughter is the victim, but our younger 10 year old daughter, as well. She started wetting herself, out of fear for their "brother". This lead to numerous challenging issues & decisions. I decided to keep our family, living in isolation. We didn't socialize with anyone, not even family. Today, nothing have changed. Most of our family is unaware of what we are going through. Therefore, we couldn't approach them for assistance. We were NEVER ashamed of our daughter, but reluctant to expose our children to hurtful & judgemental people & questions. She basically feels dirty, scared of the dark, depression, suicidal etc. Hence the increase in electricity, water & other related bills. Our entire household is affected by this nightmare, & we are receiving counselling. At one point in time, our marriage was hanging on a thin thread. But GOD is merciful. We are slowly but surely, repairing our marriage. Why? My husband is caught in the middle. He is the father of both the victim & perpetrator. The court released his son into his care, after he appeared in court. That was the start of our marriage falling apart. We are feeling blessed that this situation, have not ruined everything . Especially, now that our children NEEDS us most. We seeked religious councelling & intervention. Our 10 year old daughter, broke my heart, when she pleaded with me, not to leave our house. I felt & still feel unsafe, vulnerable & paranoid at times. Imagine, trying not to think of your children whilst they are at school, fearing for their safety. Thats why I can't allow them by themselves , using public transport. They are in a transport system, which is extremely costly on a monthly basis. We have 3 children. Their respective schools have been notified of our family's situation & the school's are vigilant.

Our Vision for the future

We are struggling to cope with daily expenses , as well as totally overwhelmed by future expenses, such as our 3 children's education. Fres now & fees for furthering their studies. We would love to see them thrive & forget about this nightmare. Basic needs eg food, electricity, mortgage payments, transport expenses etc , are causing us tremendous stress. I'm suffering from depression, anxiety and insomnia. I feel like a failure as a mother. My husband is the sole breadwinner as I have a heart condition. I was rushed to hospital a few months back, due to a heart attack scare. I have an operation scheduled on February 14th , this year, for a nerves problem in my hand, which is more uncomfortable, due to my stress. I'm hoping & praying that I don't need to spend time in the hospital, after my operation. Only my state of my heart, will determine that issue. My husband's income doesn't cover our expenses, but we refuse to beg. How can we degrade & traumatise our children even more Life is difficult & scary for us. We have put our trust in our Creator. Please keep our family in your prayers & we appeal to everyone to donate to our campaign. We ask for compassion, hope & sincere prayers , to help us through our family's nightmare. We were told that the court case, could run for 3 years. I'm exhausted & fear everyday's financial challenges.

Thank you for your kindness, empathy and compassion. Please, please donate generously to our family's campaign...