By the time the second bullet struck her spine, 18-year-old Razelle Botha was bleeding so badly she thought she was going to die right there in her bedroom in Pretoria, South Africa.

The force of the next three bullets sent her flying across her bed and suddenly the teen was fighting to take her next breath.

Her arms became heavy. She couldn't move her legs.

A few days later, doctors told Razelle she would likely never walk again.

It was just over a year ago, while still in a hospital bed, that Razelle (shown here with her dog Whooki), decided she wanted to escape the violence of South Africa, move to a "safer haven" and begin anew in Calgary, Canada.

Photograph by: Courtesy

Susan notes: I found Juliette's story on the ode exchange where it had been posted by Vicky Collins, a Colorado-based TV producer and photographer, who graciously gave me permission to post it on AWR. Collins asked me to credit HDNet World Report, which looks to me like a very cool news resource.

See an inspiring video of Juliette at the end of this story.

Juliette dreams of someday marrying a nice man.

One unlike the monster who poured acid on her in a jealous rage in July 2007.

We are sitting with this young woman, just 19 years old, on a porch near a church in Kampala, Uganda. Juliette is beautiful on the side of her face that she shows to the world. Her eyes are bright and she has a radiant smile. The other side of her face she covers with long braids.