Download PDFName: Thando Mthethwa
Age: 16
School: Malvern High School
I have seen many people getting bullied, but in the past, I did not do nothing to help those people who were being bullied. I would just stand there and in other cases I would walk away as if nothing was happening. This is because I don’t like involving myself in other people’s business.
But there is this one person I saw getting slapped cause that person did not want to give the bully her money. I just stood there looking at that girl being slapped three times. I did not try to help or do something about what I was seeing. I only stood there, watched, and then I walked away.
I sometimes think about the girl, and the memory makes me sad because it is like I can still hear her cries for help, but I just left her like that. I have promised myself that from now on, I will try to stand up for other children who cannot defend themselves, but I will not be fighting for them using my hands; I will fight using my mouth (words/speech) and stand up for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Name: Noluthando Sibiya
Age: 12
OVC: Rena le Lona
My friend has been bullied by some girls at school. They take his lunch box, and they slap him if he does not give it to them and so, he gives it to them. He was in pain and was crying a lot, and I felt a bit of pain too. So, I went to my teacher and told him that my friend is being bullied. I did not like it, so that is why I came to you, to report that my friend is being bullied. To get help, I went to tell the teacher.
This is because I take care of and look after him. I love my friend; I will fight for him to remain happy with me.
Name: Busisiwe Zulu
Grade: 6
OVC: Rena le Lona
My friend from school at J.S. Mpanza Primary is a victim of bullying. The bullies have taken her shoes. One other day, they again robbed my friend of her school lunchbox. My friend was scared to tell the teacher that she is a victim of bullying. My friend was crying everyday of school, and the big five – the bullies – said to her if she tells the teacher, after school they would beat her up. This went on for so long that one day my friend said that she wanted to kill herself; my friend’s heart was broken. The next day, we (my friend and I) went to the teacher and told him about the bullying. The teacher reported the problem to the principal, and the principal then called the bullies’ mothers. The principal suspended them from school.
Being a Victim of Bullying
Name: Happy Lamula
Grade: 9 A
School: Denver Secondary School
I have been bullied since I was young and still am. In my village, the people there insulted me, calling me names, because I am a lesbian. Even some of my family members call me bad names. I feel very much alone. Sadly, sometimes, I think about killing myself.
In my previous school, there was a boy who used to beat me because I was standing with his girlfriend. After all, they thought that I would steal their girlfriend. I used to lock myself in a room. If I still had a mother or a father, I would tell them, but they are no longer with me. And if I told my aunt, she would say to just avoid the bullies.
Things were very hard. I started to hate school. I cried when my aunt said that I had to go to school. Some family members call me evil just because I am a lesbian. There was a boy who would come to class, threaten me, and say that I should sleep with him, or he would beat me up very hard or even kill me if I don’t. He was very old. He was 21 years old, and at the time he was in grade 9 while I was in grade 8. At my new school, it is hard too.
This article is an amalgamation of various submissions from TBs across OVCs and schools of the JBF. The various articles were submitted in mid-August 2026. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
