Luvy Monyai, a talented songstress, began her musical career in 2011 with her album, titled ‘Grateful’.
She participated in the Nama Awards and had three music videos broadcast.
Prior to entering the music industry, Monyai managed a recording studio, named ‘Lash Attraction’.
In a recent interview on NSK’s Industry Loop podcast, she candidly shared that her journey has not always been easy.
She lost her mother at the age of 16 and has had to navigate life while coping with childhood trauma. “My first rape encounter was when I was three years old. I was in South Africa. When we moved to Namibia, it happened again when I was seven years old. Then at 10, I had a one-year-long sexual relationship with my uncle, who was in his early 20s by then. You know, at night, he would always come to me and tell me what was going to happen. I didn’t know it was wrong because he had groomed me to believe that this was love. This is what good girls do to their uncle,” she shared.
Monyai added: “I only figured out when I was 13 at school when kids were talking about purity – that what was happening to me was wrong. When they spoke about that, the lights came on. I realised that I’m not actually pure anymore. Somebody took something from me”.
Monyai believes that one reason her marriage to legendary music producer Elvo Diergaardt failed was because she could not confront her trauma.
“I wanted that closure from my ex-husband. I wanted too much from him, I think. That’s what he didn’t understand. If he could have maybe said, oh, let’s go for counselling or let’s, you know, do things just to help you get out of your funk. But nobody looked at me,” she said.
“I had nightmares all the time about darkness and stuff like that. At the age of thirty-something, I realised that I was scared of death. My mom never spoke about this. I think she knew, but maybe she didn’t. That’s how my healing brought me to this conclusion,” she added.
Today, she uses her music to advocate for and raise awareness about the aftermath of untreated trauma resulting from her childhood sexual assault.
Hear Our Cry Cry Foundation’s core values are designed to foster a prosocial relationship created by survivors for survivors.
“Through our peer support group and mentorship programme, I forgave my mom. I forgave my uncles or whoever they were. You understand? I reached a point where I thought, what about others who also need that validation, and how can I support them?
“Healing is important for me to be able to love my kids. Healing is important for me to pursue my purpose. Do you want me to be stuck? Do you want me to live in alignment with my purpose? That’s not fair. I mean, God created this world for all of us too,” Monyai said.
Hear Our Cry Cry Foundation has established a peer support group for individuals with shared experiences.
“We can vent to each other. We can discuss our struggles and similar topics. This is where I guide you in uncovering all the traumas from your past. After that, you’ll discover your new potential. From there, you can reclaim everything you were before the trauma occurred. I spoke up – I stood. Now, I’m sharing my story with the world, proclaiming that there is healing after every traumatic experience today” she remarked.
Monyai can be contacted for more information at luvymonyai@gmail.com/0813137860.
-slunyangwe@nepc.com.na