After completing her hormone replacement therapy, 22-year-old Robyn Botha from Kraaifontein is crowdfunding her way to have gender reassignment surgery done.
Botha, born Dewald, says being assigned male at birth was a “genetic mistake” that wasn't hers and being registered as male was a “label I would spend my life trying to live up to” .
“I always felt as if there was something wrong with me. As a boy, the reflection in the mirror staring back at me was someone I couldn't relate to. It always seemed that the person I was seeing was someone else.
“At five years old, I was introduced to countless specialists, who shattered my parents’ dream of a model son. I was diagnosed as transgender. I was trapped in a body that didn't belong to me,” Botha said.
Her sexual orientation was a challenge during high school, leading to a suicide attempt, as she recalls being bullied for being “too feminine”.
Botha did not complete her schooling due to the bullying and opted for community college to study further and eventually find a job in the retail industry.
Through Backabuddy, Botha hopes to crowdfund R200000 towards the surgery.
“At 18 I started hormone replacement therapy and applied for gender reassignment surgery at Groote Schuur Hospital. I was discouraged to learn that the government only pays for three surgeries a year, making the waiting list a minimum of 25 years long. The idea of spending a ‘life sentence’ in the wrong body makes me feel hopeless,” she says.
Botha said after researching, she could not afford to pay for this surgery on her own.
“This is the road that has led me to crowdfunding. I'm hoping to raise (the funds) that will allow me to become the woman I was born to be. With this campaign I want to empower other transgender individuals to step out and share their stories with the world.”
Earlier this year, UCT student, Siphe Magudulela also started a crowd-funding campaign for gender re-assignment surgery, as he transitioned from female to male. His crowdfunding was facilitated through GoFundMe and came to an end during last month.
Magudulela received just over R20 000 for surgery to be done.