Jes Foord and her father are from Shongweni, South Africa. They are walking their little puppy in the park, the little whelp splashing joyfully around in the lake. But suddenly, a gang of armed men approaches them.
“When I saw the men, I thought they wanted to rob us,” tells Jes. “But instead they tied my father to a tree and held a knife to his throat.” The 5 men force him to watch while they rip off the young woman’s shorts and take turns raping her.
"I am here Jes,” her father calls the entire time. “The sound of his voice was the only thing that kept me sane during the nightmare. But then they stuffed my dad’s hat in his mouth,” recalls Jes. “When it was over and they drove off, I saw the expression in my father’s eyes. It was heartbreaking.”
Just 2 days later the perpetrators were arrested. The men laughed during the entirety of Jes’s testimony. But together they received a sentence of 107 years in prison. Jes Foord refused to let her life be defined by the terrible incident. “I could have let it destroy me,” says the 28-year-old. “But, I feel so much closer to my father than ever before.” Tim Foord even walked his daughter to the altar at her wedding. “That was wonderful,” the young woman remembers. “I will never let what happened overshadow all the wonderful things that have happened since.”
One of these wonderful things was the birth of her twins Layla and Daniel last year. The strong young woman wants to fight for a better and safer world for her daughter. She has since founded her own fund to help support rape victims.
Jes Foord is an impressive woman that didn’t let her life be determined by a single incident. When this warrior and fighter impressed you just as much as it did me, then share this story. For a safer and juster world.
credits www.heftig.co
