Last night we had the distinct pleasure and honor to be
part of an audience of more than 1000 people to hear Dr. Maya Angelou speak. She did not disappoint.
One clear and poignant moment was when she shared with
us that she had been raped at the age of 7 by
her uncle. Her uncle told her, “If you tell anyone I will kill your brother.”
Maya’s brother was 9 at the time and her superstar, her love, her confident and
best friend. She was scared. Her brother could tell something was wrong and
persuaded her to tell him what was bothering her. She did….she
told and the man uncle went to jail for one day.
That’s right, just one day for taking the innocence of a beautiful 7-year-old
child.
When he was released from jail he was killed. In Maya’s 7-year-old mind she thought because she used her voice and told, she killed him.
She went mute and stayed mute for a long period of time, convinced her words
killed him.
She found solace in poetry, she found comfort in words
and finally decided to break her silence and use
her voice again, to teach and help the
voiceless. That she has done and more, For
us at KidSafe Foundation, hearing her speak our message – preventing child sexual
abuse by giving children a voice – was awe-inspiring, and gave strength and
empowerment to our mission.
Her voice gave us something that I am not sure we can put
into words. If our passion for keeping children safe was strong before, it has taken new
life, new energy and a new-found purpose.
We at KidSafe Foundation urge you to join our cause. The strength in numbers is
obvious – what one person can do is
instrumental. Help us give children a voice at www.kidsafefoundation.org.
