Help Me Protect My Children and Build a Safe Future After 10 Months of Hidden Abuse and another 10 months of frustration and pressure.
My name is Thato Lesupi. I am a mother of two Zambian children. I am begging for your help because my 4-year-old daughter, Lweendo, was sexually abused by her own father.
She was only 2 when it started. When I finally caught him with my own eyes, I discovered the abuse had been going on for _10 months_ without me knowing. Ten months of my baby being hurt in her own home while I slept in the next room. No mother should ever live with that pain. No child should live through that.
I reported him immediately. There was a medical report confirming the abuse. My daughter disclosed everything to trained counselors on video. But the police closed the case saying “no evidence.” They even sent us back to live with his family, where she was abused again. I am now fighting for justice at the highest level in Zambia, but the legal process is slow and I am terrified.
This is why I desperately need your help:
1. We need a safe, private home now.
We are living in a shelter. I am grateful, but shelters are not safe for a traumatized child. No privacy. Not enough food and toiletries. My children are losing weight because the trauma and environment have killed their appetite. Lweendo cannot heal if she doesn’t feel clean, safe, and loved. A small rented house would give her a door she can close. A bed where she doesn’t flinch.
2. I need capital to start a business for our up keep and my stay in Zambia legally.
My spouse permit has expired and has been fined and I need to apply for permanent residency which is another cost.
3. We need safe transport.
Getting to court, police, clinics, and counseling with two babies is impossible on buses. A second-hand car means my children are not exposed to more danger when we travel.
4. I want to build a better shelter for other mothers.
I’ve lived with no privacy, not enough food, no dignity. Mothers escaping abuse shouldn’t have to choose between violence and humiliation. With help, I will start a shelter where women and children get privacy, enough food, toiletries and respect. I know what we need because I am living it.
- I am not asking for pity. I am asking for a chance to give my daughter the childhood that was stolen from. She must be in school, but she is instead in a shelter. Every dollar helps us take one step away from fear.
Thank you for seeing us.
Thato Lesupi