4 episodes
Survivors Life Podcasts
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- Health & Fitness
They say everyone is facing their own battles, but some stories beggar belief. Often the media tells the stories of personal catastrophe and then promptly walks away. What happens to the person who is left, with their life in tatters. How do they survive, and sometimes even thrive, in spite of seemingly insurmountable odds. What is it that makes some people so strong?
We bring you four stories of survival, that chart four individuals’ journey back to wellness. They have faced physical and emotional trials that seem unimaginable. But each one has found their way through the trauma, and come to a place of healing, and better understanding.
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Tirelo
Tirelo has been raped twice, and has been through the wringer, descending into alcoholism, and battling severe depression. She talks about her journey to sobriety, and the difficulty of trying to deal with severe mental illness in the black community, where mental health complaints are often stigmatized.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Samkelo Radebe
Samkelo Radebe – imagine being electrocuted as a small child, waking up in agony in hospital, and having your parents tell you the doctors have to amputate your hands in order to save your life. That’s what happened to Samkelo Radebe. Years on, he’s a paralympian medallist, a south African hero, and now a candidate attorney at one of the nation’s best firms.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
JP Andrew
JP was an average teenager who loved the water. His favourite pastime was surfing. It was the love of that hobby that killed him - literally. He was attacked by a shark as he surfed, fished out of the water by a fellow surfer. He died on the beach, but medics kept fighting and managed to revive him. He died in the ambulance on the way to hospital, but again they revived him. Doctors said he’d never come out of the coma. But he did. An incredibly wise 26 year old, he tells us how he dealt with losing his leg, and finding meaning in what happened to him.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Father Michael Lapsley
Father Michael Lapsley – a priest who dedicated his life to the liberation of South Africa. He was targeted by the security police in the 80s. They sent him a letter bomb that blew both of his hands off, and left him partially sighted. In spite of the horror, and the cruelty that prompted the attack, he has never stopped preaching peace and forgiveness.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.