Child sexual abuse survivor helps keep kids safe

Ntombi Shezi was sexually assaulted when she was just eight years old, and from that day she promised herself she would find a place of safety to help women and children who had suffered similar violations.

Today, Shezi, 40, runs House of Paradise, an early childhood development centre that feeds about 500 children daily, and also helps victims of gender-based violence (GBV) and other desperate people in Zonkizizwe, Katlehong. 

“I said to myself: One day I want to build a place where children would be able to come and be safe during the day,” Shezi said.

“So, that even when the parents or their grandparents are at work, then my place would be safe for them, and they will not be sexually abused or abused in any way because such an experience stays with you for a long time.” 

Shezi said because the area was known for frequent taxi violence and killings, it was important to bring hope and safety to a community that is so often gripped by fear. “I chose Zonkizizwe because I've seen that it is a township feared by many people. It is known for all the bad things, and I wanted to be here and make an impact. ,” she said.

When a Sowetan team visited the centre on Thursday, scores of children were playing, while others lined up for free haircuts offered by one of the sponsors. An elderly man also arrived asking for food so he could take his chronic medication.

Inside, some children were being taught in a classroom while volunteers prepared meals in the kitchen. Others tended to the grounds outside. The vegetable garden, cared for by members of the community, is also thriving.  “The GBV victims also run the garden project; they sell whatever we get from the garden so that they can sustain their lives,” she said. 

Shezi, a metro cop, said she worked as a cashier in Vosloorus when she was in matric. She then moved on to work as a forklift driver before she applied to join the metro police in 2006.

In 2015, she turned to her passion of helping the community in a small shack donated by a resident. She started with a vegetable garden and feeding scheme, and then moved on to help GBV victims.

Seven years later, in 2022, after knocking at various doors and asking for help, others noticed her passion for the work and built rooms for the centre and donated shipping containers. Shezi said that when she was operating from the shack, she fed about 100 children every day.

But due to a lack of funding, Shezi had to make personal sacrifices – taking out loans and using her salary – to ensure the children had a meal every day. She also had to sell her vehicle to maintain the centre.

While she is sponsored by the Gauteng education department and private individuals, she sometimes has to tap into her salary to keep the centre going.  “I get stressed when there is no sugar or mealie meal. It is my responsibility to ensure that everyone sleeps with a full stomach,” she said.

Shezi said the centre worked closely with the local community policing forum and has social workers on site to help with GBV cases.

“We also try to assist those who abuse drugs, but often they relapse. But helping people is what I enjoy. I have nights when I don’t sleep. Helping people is a feeling I cannot [describe] because I don’t get a cent from this, but I get joy.”

SowetanLIVE