Sindi

A defenseless little girl, a heartbreaking story. Difficult to read, worse to write, terrible to live through. All upset, we tell you about Sindi, our big, little girl.

Sindi's mother is HIV-positive. She has lost her parents and when she got pregnant, her boyfriend left her. Volunteers at Bobbi Bear helped her as much as they could, but Sindi's mother had been infected for quite a while and during her pregnancy, there were no ARV's available. There was still hope that little Sindi would be healthy, but this hope was roughly shattered when she was raped at age 2. The perpetrator was positive.

Thanks to donations by Uthando and partner-organization Be More, Sindi was treated and her mother was taught to read and write. Together they participated in a program that helped Sindi's mother cope with the disease and to administer medication. Everyone was very fond of the little girl and help was offered from all sides. Step by step, Sindi was feeling better, and she noticably flourished.

In October 2006 Sindi - now 6 years old - was raped three times by a neighbor. The volunteers at Bobbi Bear worked late into the night to get the perpetrator. After which, his 21-year old son turned up to continue his father's practices. For the second time in a week, Sindi was medically treated for the consequences of sexual abuse. In the meantime, her mother was deprived of her parental rights, due to neglect.

Sindi is surrounded by love and care at Bobbi Bear, but the new infection and trauma are a huge setback. We are crushed, thinking about Sindi, our big little girl. We want to write how we feel broken by it, until we realize, she is.