Against All Odds

By Kogie Snyders

Author Kogie Snyders was inspired to write this book after losing a close friend to suicide; a situation that was out of control as her friend didn’t have emotional support. If someone was there to understand her pain, assist her with counselling and help her face her fears, she would not have had to go through such turmoil and ultimately end her own life.

This is the author’s own personal story, experiences and testimonies. It follows her life’s journey of abuse, fear, heartache, despair, poverty, determination, forgiveness and a fight to succeed. There are so many people who have and still are experiencing similar circumstances, who do not know how to respond or react in these situations. It is hoped that this true-life story will reach out to those people and encourage them to continue to fight and believe that there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel. You can move on; there is always hope and a chance at a fresh new beginning.

After all, the author didn’t give up, against all odds!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kogie Snyders
• Release date: Feb 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463278864

Book preview

AGAINST

ALL

ODDS

Kogie Snyders

Copyright © 2019 Kogie Snyders

Published by Kogie Snyders Publishing at Smashwords

First edition 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Kogie Snyders using Reach Publishers’ services,

Edited by Vanessa Finaughty for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Website: www.reachpublishers.co.za

E-mail: [e-mail]

A journey of heartache, despair, poverty and

determination, and a fight to succeed.

I didn’t give up, against all odds!

Chapter One

My life…

I was born on 12 February 1969, a girl.

I lived with my mom, my sister, two cousins and grandparents, an uncle and an unmarried aunt. As far as I can remember, there was no father figure in our lives. I didn’t question it and he was not spoken of either. Whenever someone at school or in the neighbourhood spoke of their dad, whether it was buying them presents or doing something with them, or taking them away for a holiday, I would get this feeling of deep sadness and could not shake it off, but didn’t understand why.

We lived just below the breadline, which meant that we often went without basics. Luxuries such as new clothes, shoes and toiletries were afforded to us only on special occasions like Christmas, Easter, and birthdays. We had to use our toiletries sparingly and had only one pair of shoes that we wore everywhere, even to a function. Mom was a cardiac patient and was often sick and could not work, so she was granted social pension and maintenance grants for both of us minors. We could not afford to live independently and that’s why our grandparents insisted we stay with them.

Granny and Mom did their best to supplement the income by taking weekly contracts from the local butcher to clean sheep offal. This helped with the weekly running of the household. Grandfather was pensioned and also asthmatic, but he helped with the butchery contract and did odd jobs around the neighbourhood. People paid him and also gave him some groceries, fruit and goodies for us. People knew him well, as he was a retired handyman, and they often called him to help. Whenever he had to go a distance away, he would choose to take me, as I was the talkative one and kept him company with my many questions as he walked. I would often be asked to sing or recite poems to entertain his friends and, in return, they would give me their small change.

We were frowned upon in society, as Mom was a single parent, which was seen as being a failure, especially within the Indian community. People were cruel and often mocked us, because we did not have the nice things they had. We did not have a television, but this did not worry us, as we were kept busy. Our neighbours would call us on weekends to watch some of kids’ programmes with them. We looked forward to that, even though we used to sit on the carpet cross-legged.

In spite of all the disappointments and sadness in our childhood, we managed to enjoy ourselves, had no issues and lived very simply. We played for hours on the streets and in our backyard with the little toys that we had. We didn’t understand about status and why people taunted us. All we knew was that we were kids and just wanted to play and have fun.

We had a cat called Ginger and a dog called Bonzo. Ginger was my favourite pet; he would follow us everywhere. One day, Mom sent my sister, Carol, across the road to buy some herbs. Ginger ran behind her and I was behind him. I was standing on the pavement, as I wasn’t allowed to go with Carol, when a car that