Survivors

Tirelo has been raped twice, and has been through the wringer, descending into alcoholism, and battling severe depression. She talks about her journey to sobriety, and the difficulty of trying to deal with severe mental illness in the black community, where mental health complaints are often stigmatized.

Samkelo Radebe – imagine being electrocuted as a small child, waking up in agony in hospital, and having your parents tell you the doctors have to amputate your hands in order to save your life. That’s what happened to Samkelo Radebe. Years on, he’s a paralympian medallist, a south African hero, and now a candidate attorney at one of the nation’s best firms.

JP was an average teenager who loved the water. His favourite pastime was surfing. It was the love of that hobby that killed him - literally. He was attacked by a shark as he surfed, fished out of the water by a fellow surfer. He died on the beach, but medics kept fighting and managed to revive him. He died in the ambulance on the way to hospital, but again they revived him. Doctors said he’d never come out of the coma. But he did. An incredibly wise 26 year old, he tells us how he dealt with losing his leg, and finding meaning in what happened to him.

Father Michael Lapsley – a priest who dedicated his life to the liberation of South Africa. He was targeted by the security police in the 80s. They sent him a letter bomb that blew both of his hands off, and left him partially sighted. In spite of the horror, and the cruelty that prompted the attack, he has never stopped preaching peace and forgiveness.