She’s a little girl with a sweet smile and, at first glance, she looks no different from any other child. But she is a survivor of a vicious rape and eye-gouging attack near her home in Gingindlovu, in Zululand, and now she has been given new hope.
It was just a few months ago when this eight-year-old’s story shocked SA.
She was raped, bitten and one of her eyes was gouged out by a 15-year-old boy. but on Thursday she appeared at ease at the Durban University of Technology’s dental clinic, where she was fitted with a prosthetic eye.
“She is a brave little girl,” said Rita Khuzwayo, a community member who has been caring for her since the attack.
“She was extremely traumatised after what happened, and when she went back to school she was teased by the other kids, so she had to be moved to another school,” she said.
The child is an orphan who lives with her ill grandmother but, despite the adversity she has faced, she has moved on with her life and her new eye is the next step in her recovery.
DUT dental technology department lecturer Peter Furber, who is heading the procedure, said: “I got a call about a month ago from an optometrist who asked if I would be able to make a prosthesis for this patient, and I agreed.”
Furber was asked because he has a background in this kind of specialised prosthetics.
“At first she didn’t want anybody near her, and I had to win her over,” said Furber. “But she is a wonderful child, and what happened to her was atrocious.
“She is very pleased about her new eye,” said Khuzwayo. “At first, things were very hard. Whenever people asked her about what happened to her eye, she would cry.
“But she is much better now. Her teacher at her new boarding school is very accommodating.”
The girl likes to play with her friends at school, and she enjoys colouring in. She seeks solace with Khuzwayo, but finds it difficult to trust outsiders. Her new eye has been a big boost.
“She is responding well to the new prosthetic eye,” said Furber, wiping tears from his eyes. “It closely resembles an ordinary eye and it has 85 percent movement.”
The girl is still very emotional, and her grandmother no longer lets her play outside. She has other scars from the attack and does not play with boys any more.
The Mercury