The Mercury
Peter Furber of DUT Dental Clinic examines *Lindiwe after performing a successful prosthetic eye fitting operation. Picture: Gcina Ndwalane
Durban – Local hospitality industry players have rallied around a 9-year-old rape survivor, making it easier for her to travel to Durban to have her prosthetic eye replaced.
Lindiwe (not her real name), the little Eshowe girl who had her eye gouged out by her attacker last year, needs to travel to Durban every 18 months to have the eye replaced. Durban North ocularist Peter Furber has offered her the R12 000 prosthetic and has promised to continue to do so as she grows.
However, her grandmother and the neighbour who has stepped in to care for her do not have the means to bring her to Durban, let alone provide accommodation and meals.
Shamini Pather, the general manager at the Royal Palm Hotel in Umhlanga, arranged accommodation at the hotel, while restaurants such as Centre Court, Circus Circus and John Dory at Gateway, The Square Boutique Hotel and Gateway Hotel have ensured they need not worry about meals.
While the events since February last year have taken their toll on the girl, the trip to Durban has offered welcome relief with shopping vouchers to keep her busy. The neighbour says it’s been a long road.
“Lindiwe also has to make regular visits to the psychologist in Empangeni and it is also important with all that has happened that she feels a part of a family and is loved,” she said.
Furber attested to the fact that she is doing well.
“When I first met her she was terribly uncomfortable around men and psychologically very traumatised about the eye. This time around it was like dealing with a different child,” he said.
The neighbour says while others in the community ridiculed her for taking on the child and her problems, despite not having money, she believed that, “You don’t always need to have anything, to help”.
The neighbour said no one has been convicted for the rape.
The Mercury
