Nompumelelo

Nompumelelo is a 16 year old rural girl from Nkandla Kwazulu Natal, a rural area in South Africa's biggets Province. She lives with her ill father and she does not go to school so that she can take care of her Father who is lying on the floor, cancer is slowly taking away his life. Well it is no problem the fact that she does not go to school, many rural South African Girls are not allowed to go to school. They must stay behind with their mothers and help take care of the house. Poor Nompumelo does not know how to read, write, speak and does not understand english, she only knows her home language IsiZulu. She is a chichi (A virgin) and not allowed to sleep with boys. In case you wonder, her mother died of cancer when she was still young.

Life is just boring for Nompumelelo. She does not have time to play with other kids her age and they always laugh at her when they see her carrying a bucket of water that she took from the near-by river. That's what she does on many occasions, when she gets home she would always burst into tears. One day her father asked her "Nompumelelo why are you crying?"

'The other girls always laugh at me and tease me when I come from the river' She told her Father. Her father assured he that all of that will end. She will be a happy girl soon. What her father is not telling her is what is it that will end her problem soon.

One day while Nompumelelo was out to Fetch water, an old boer (Afrikaana) came to visit her father. His name was Steinkan Botha, he knows Nompumelelos father from the Apartheid days when he was still part of The IFP that worked covertly with the apartheid government to stop black people from Revolting. Botha was about 60 years old and coughed a lot as he went in Nompumelelos fathers' hut without even knocking. 'Nduna, Nduna, Nduna are you here!!!' he called. Nduna means chief in IsiZulu, the one who does not learson to the opinions of his subjects. 'Ahh!! the great Nduna, I am down here' responded Nompumelelos father. After Botha noticed him, he did not hesitate but cut strait to the point. 'Nduna, You know that I care for you right?. And I wouldn't like you to die from a curable illness like cancer, so I brought you a cure. In exchange you also give me a cure for HIV-AIDS!!. You see how much I love you Nduna?'
Botha told Nompumelelo's father.
'Yes Nduna I see, but I don't have a cure for HIV-Aids?'
'Nduna, Nduna you have! Don't You know that Virgins cure HIV-Aids?, yes they do Nduna, you just have sex with her and it's all gone. She does not get infected. It's that simple, and I know your daughter is a virgin.'

Not surprisingly, Nompumelelos father agreed to give his daughter to Botha for an exchange of a cancer cure. Many black people believe in every thing that a white person says. The exchange was done, Nompumelelos father was given a Rhino horn and was promised that it will cure him. He (Nompumelelos father) told Botha to confront his daughter on her way from the river. Botha did so and told her that her father said he must take her to Johannesburg and give her a Good life. Nompumelelo Trusted her father and she agreed to go with Botha. Besides, a child must not question orders and decision of the parent. It is the law.