The mother of a 13-year-old girl who tried to kill herself after she was allegedly bullied at school says it’s a miracle her daughter is alive.
The Grade 7 pupil at Parkhurst Primary School in Mitchells Plain hanged herself in the lounge of the family’s Westridge home with a skipping rope on 20 August.
The distraught mom tells the Daily Voice: “If her sister didn’t wake up earlier than usual that morning, then my daughter would have been dead today.
“Her older sister, who is in university, is trained in first aid and is also studying in the medical field.”
The girl has been left with a large scar around her neck and has also been placed on suicide watch.
INJURY: Westridge meisie’s neck scarred from hanging. Picture supplied
The 45-year-old mom says the trouble started in April when classmates started bullying the girl because of an essay she wrote about her late grandfather.
“This was funny to the class and her essay was taken by her best friend who shared it with everyone in the class,” the mother explains.
“Everything my daughter does at school is a joke to her classmates.
“One of the other issues they have is also because of her chronic eczema; my daughter needs to moisturise her whole body before she leaves for school, but it only lasts for two hours and then she starts getting ashy again.”
Classmate bullied teen at school. Picture supplied
The heartbroken mom says her daughter started cutting herself but because of the eczema, it was difficult for them to notice the cuts.
“She started cutting at the wrist and later at more parts of her body.”
The mom says her daughter had approached the school’s vice-principal a week before her suicide attempt to ask if there was help for kids who feel suicidal.
“I had only learnt of this appeal after she hanged herself. The vice-principal told me he didn’t think it was my place to know about her request for a suicide awareness campaign,” the angry mother says.
She says her daughter is now on suicide watch and they’ve had to get rid of all potentially dangerous objects such as blades, ropes, tablets and anything that she could use to harm herself.
“We have to lock up everything and I’ve also now had to leave my job to take care of her,” says the mom.
Beverley Davids, of the Chauncey’s Epic Anti-Bullying Campaign, says ironically, just the Sunday before the incident, she had spoken about bullying at the church the family attends.
Beverley is now helping the family deal with the trauma.
Beverley started the campaign after her own son, Chauncey, was bullied in primary school.
AID: Beverley Davids, of anti-bullying drive, helping family
Chauncey died in 2014 after a failed science experiment at home.
WCED spokesperson, Millicent Merton, says a school psychologist is attending to the matter.