A Pastor (Lindiwe Mashigo) disclosed the abuse she experienced in her first marriage, she regrets staying in the abusive relationship and she said what happened to her should be prevented from happening to other young girls.
To curb this social stigma, she recently launched Talitha Cumi, a girls’ ministry formed to educate, give girls a voice to say no to abuse and shackle off gender based violence.
Lindiwe said Talitha Cumi’s translation is ‘little girl arise’ its main objective is to help girls to form a relationship with God first and to focus on their studies. “This will give them freedom to live a life they will cherish one day when they become mothers and it will also prevent them from being taken advantage of by abusive partners.”
Talitha Cumi is not Lindiwe’s first initiative: “My first mission was (ASOW) ‘Arise and Shine Ooh Women’, a women’s ministry which birthed Talitha Cumi that we are launching today.” she said so last week during the launch in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni east of Jozi.“I got married to an abusive husband and l experienced firsthand mistreatment by my ex-husband. I wished if I had someone to talk to who could have advised and given me direction. That person could have saved me from making the mistakes that led me into a wrong abusive relationship. The pain I experienced made me want to change my life and other women and girls’ lives.” After Lindiwe’s daughter showed signs of distress, after witnessing her being physically abused by her dad, Lindiwe became desperate. “I used to watch helplessly as my daughter played in the house alone with her toys… as if she was talking to her friends, saying: ‘mina ngeke ngishade, uzothi uyashada indoda ikushaye ikushaye ikushaye yhoo ngeke’, meaning;’i am not going to get married, you get married then a man beats you up again and again and again.”
Lindiwe added, “That was my turning point, it hurts me a lot and it made me realize the damage I was causing to my daughter by staying in an abusive marriage. I moved on and started ‘ASOW’ but that was not the end of my dream of helping the abused that’s why today we are launching the girls’ movement.”
At the launch Lindiwe had asked girls to bring pillows and she chose a parent to pray for those pillows. “I did an act of faith to these girls, this is because I believe their best friends were their pillows. “If pillows could talk, they would share the thoughts our girls have, which they don’t share with us as parents. These pillows even know the girls tears because they have cried on them. So I want to create a connection between them and us as mothers that even if they can’t speak, as they lay awake at night on their pillows, our daughters must know that we are including them in our prayers.”
Pastor Lindiwe is married to a noble, loving and caring husband, Apostle Simon Mashigo of the Grace Love Family Church in Daveyton.
By Warren F Ubisi
