There are some stories where the odds of survival are truly one in a million. Such is the story of Promise Mavuso. In 2003 Promise’s father died, which scattered the family of nine children to whatever relatives would take them. Like so many children who are orphaned through HIV/AIDS, life was no longer safe. Within a short period Promise lived in four different homes; in each, she was sexually abused by male relatives.

Yet Promise was intent on completing school, which she saw as a door of opportunity. She successfully worked her way through primary school and then began high school in Vuvulane, a run-down community primarily occupied by laborers from the sugar cane plantations. The quality of education was not the best, but she felt it was better than none.

During high school Promise lived in a one-room shack with her mother. Because there was often no electricity, she would do her homework at school and try to get home before dark. One evening in 2007 a teacher asked Promise to stay and do extra chores. On the way home, she was raped at knife point by two men. Because she was viewed as a bringer of bad luck, Promise was sent away to Johannesburg. Eventually she was referred to an orphanage, but later escaped because the treatment was inhumane and hitchhiked to Eswatini with her mother who had lost track of her for some time. School became her obsession.

In Eswatini, an estimated 20% of children are unable to complete high school due to teen pregnancy, HIV prevalence, orphanhood, discouragement, violence and poverty. For a child without funds to eat regularly, high school fees make education even more inaccessible. Yet Promise persevered and eventually graduated from high school. She had one son who stayed with her sister in Eswatini while she sought job opportunities in Johannesburg. Working as a waitress, she met the manager of a law firm who was impressed by her service and offered her an entry-level job.

For the next five years Promise distinguished herself at work. She took courses to further her education and began to date a young professional at the Nigerian embassy. Then darkness descended again.

In December 2021, on her way home from work, Promise was dragged under a bridge, viciously gang raped and severely injured. While recovering from surgeries over the next three months she struggled to want to stay alive.

Since primary school, SOHO has been working with Promise and a younger sister to provide counseling, support and encouragement. Learning of Promise’s plight, a SOHO donor stepped in and covered the full cost of her hospitalization and care.

“Without SOHO, I would not be alive,” says Promise, who now has recovered physically and is taking online courses in psychology. Her goal is to provide Christian counseling and support for injured girls. “My past does not define me,” Promise says. “It doesn’t matter where you come from, but where you are going.”