By the time most of Cape Town is still asleep, a teenager from Mitchells Plain is already up and at it, earning every cent toward a special night he’s determined to pay for himself.
Rudolph Lekay, an 18-year-old matric pupil at Florida High School in Ravensmead, starts his day at 4:30am. He catches a lift to the local taxi and bus rank, where he spends the early hours selling sweets and chips to busy commuters. Then, by 7:20am, he’s on his way to school, as News24 reports.
His mission? To save up for his matric dance in October, a celebration he says his family simply can’t afford.
‘Life hasn’t always been easy for me and my mother. She’s a single parent, having to raise four children on her own. I know deep down in her heart she would’ve given everything to make sure my matric ball was great, but financial circumstances prevail,’ Lekay told News24.
Seeing elderly women selling vetkoek at the taxi rank gave him the idea to start a mini business of his own.
‘It hit me then. I could sell sweets and chips because that is always a winner with customers,’ he said.
According to News24, Lekay used his R150 Christmas gift money as start-up capital. He took a minibus taxi to a wholesaler near Promenade Mall and stocked up: soft sweets for R45, small packets of chips for R55, and see-through packets for R30. He made it back home with stock, and hope.
‘I remember that day clearly, I was so excited,’ he told News24.
He showed his mother the bags of stock and explained his plan. Since then, the teenager has been grinding daily, often making up to R600 a day.
He’s set a savings goal of R10 000 by September, just in time to pay for the suit, transport, and everything else he needs for his matric farewell.
‘I’ve already been looking at outfits, vehicles, haircuts, suits, and shoes for the big day,’ he said to News24. ‘Olive green is the colour I’ve chosen. Everything else will fall into place.’
Lekay says his matric dance ticket alone will cost R800, but he’s focused, disciplined, and refuses to let financial hardship stop him from celebrating a major life milestone.
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