In 2016 there was a sweet girl called Rea. She was in Grade 3, 11 years old. Rea didn’t have any friends, she was always quiet. She did her schoolwork and never spoke to people except her older sister, Oyisa.

She lived on a farm with her mom, grandma and sister. She was bullied by a girl and boy but she never spoke out to get help because she was scared of them. Rea was physically abused every day, but never spoke.

One evening, her grandma asked her about the marks on her body, wondering if she had been beaten.

“My love, please tell me what’s wrong?” she asked, “Whatsoever it is, if you don’t talk, you will carry on getting hurt. Talk to me, I’m here,” she said.

She told her grandma everything and her grandma went to the principal. The principal disciplined the two learners and they apologised to Rea for everything.

The lesson learnt here is: don’t bully others, don’t hurt them in any way. If you have done wrong, apologise, that makes you a better person. I’m talking from experience.

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