The day my whole life changed – a true story

I WAS sick in bed with fever when my classmates were writing their mock common entrance exams. The house was empty, my mother had gone to Watumaka market to sell and my grandfather was working in the village nearby. I slept and then awoke, feeling a little better so I went to the washroom, which was outside, to urinate. On returning to the house I took a drink of cool water from the pipe and also patted some on my hot forehead and then I made my way back to my room. No sooner had I entered when someone pushed me from behind on to the bed and jumped on top of me.

I was screaming, shouting, crying and fighting with all the energy I had, but he pinned me down. He was bigger and stronger than me I could barely breathe. He put his big rough hand over my mouth and turned me over and in one quick motion he pulled up my nightdress and raped me. I remember the hot pain searing through my body from my head right down to my toes, I was screaming, stop, stop this, stop, help, somebody help me… as the hot tears overflowed from my eyes and the pain continued in every part of my body. And still I protested no, no, no, no, help me…. but no one could hear me, my pleas were muffled by the fingers of his big rough hand over my mouth: the hand of my Uncle Mikey.

I don’t remember a lot after that, maybe I passed out. My head felt heavy and dizzy when I awoke and my bed and nightdress were in a mess. I tidied myself the best I could, but I could barely walk, I was feeling a lot of pain in my private parts and my head was spinning. I remember thinking, I had been raped, I heard people talking about rape and I had seen it on the television but now it had happened to me.

My uncle raped me, uncle Mikey, my mother’s brother, sneaked in the house and raped me. What should I do? Who should I tell? Will they believe me? Will they blame me? I bet uncle Mikey will say it’s not true and I am making it up. He will call me a liar and say he wasn’t in the house. What kind of person would do such a horrible thing to a small child like me? I now going to write common entrance, I am not a woman, I am a child. I am always trying to do the right things, good things for my family and now I am worthless. No one will love me any more: not my mother, nor grandfather and I can never get a husband when I grow big. Everyone will hate me; my school friends will think I am dirty.

My mother came home to find me asleep huddled up in a ball on her bed; she shook me awake and sent me back to my bedroom. I didn’t say anything, but as I entered my room, my tears began to flow like a fountain and I fell to the floor sobbing loudly in the doorway.

(The names and locations have been changed to protect identity)

Part Two next week

If you are concerned about the welfare of a child call the Childcare and Protection Hotline on 227- 0979 or write to us at childcaregy@gmail.com