[PICS] Matrics ballin’: Community rallies to support Plain Grade 12s
As you may well know, the Cape community has this awesome thing going with learners and matric balls, in that people with resources will stiek uit to help teenagers make their big event an unforgettable experience.
Recently, the NGO called Supporting People In Need (SPIN) was contacted by Shariefa Clarke of Beacon Hill High School to be of assistance to learners needing a ride (in style, nogal) to their big night. Ms Clarke contacted other people too, as we shall see.
SPIN, being a collection of like-minded individuals with strong social outreach gedagte, did their best to oblige and organized a convoy of about seven smart cabbies to do the outreach.
Shahiem Bell, part of the organizing group, says: “Thanks to selfless souls in our car scene like Tousseef Haroun, Faizal Rajie, Zahier Abader, Jessie Arendse and Jody Barron, we could safely transport the learners in style. These guys come straight from their work places, enduring the afternoon traffic to get to their respective addresses on time and put huge smiles on these learners faces.”
Caurtwen Solomons, 21, is the deputy head boy of the school, and he spoke to Bobby Nitro after the event. He says: “I was picked up at the house by an awesome 3-series Beemer, my top car brand, and ferried to Westgate Mall for the meet-up. It was very exciting, as we don’t get to experience such cars and for me as a car person it was an unforgettable experience.”
The convoy was comprised of mainly BMW M-cars and Lexus.
So excited was Caurtwen that, when asked, has can hardly remember the details. But the rev-off in the road sticks. He says: “I has some friends in the road, and when the revving started they dropped everything and came to see.”
Caurtwen adds: “Feeling that kind of support coming from the community, it was a great privilege. It has taken me some time to get to matric and to feel supported in my achievements was fantastic, to feel there are people standing behind me. It’s like the message is ‘it’s not going to be easy, but here is some stuff to make it easier.”
Every year Ms Solomons and the principal of Beacon Hill, Ms Benjamin offer assistance to learners who need help going to the Matric Ball, by asking for contributions from the community. These can be paying for learner tickets, dresses, suites, shoes, hair make up and nails and they reach out to Shahiem who helps with the cars for the learners at no cost.
Ex-pupils Luna Lackay and Jamiela Casper come with their team and offer hair, make-up and nails services to the learners free of charge. Valencia Harrison, who was awarded business woman of the year in 2018 specialises in Haute Couture and Wedding Attire.
Last year, Valencia donated designed dresses. This year she did it again through a mentorship programme with 25 selected girls and eight of them were given the opportunity to design their very own dress and better yet, they were part of the manufacturing process.
Her aim is to mentor the girls to become leaders in communities, leaders in their field of interest and assist through networking opportunities where she can introduce the learners to female entrepreneurs and business owners for either employment or uplifting them to create their own growth by dreaming big and thinking big.
Ms Clarke says: “At Beacon Hill we give, we love, we care. It is much more than just a school and we want our learners to carry it through. Enter to learn, leave to serve.”
Part of the matric ball scene is to arrive at the venue, to be driven up to the entrance and exit the vehicle with your classmates cheering and admiring the car, your get-up and so on. As such, says Caurtwen: “My date Aaishah Halliem was urging the driver to go a little faster so we could show up at just the right time.”
Faizal Rajie, one the contributors, says: “some learners were expecting a BMW, and when Jody pitched with that bright yellow Lexus, they were over the moon. And so was Jody, to have been part of the event.”
In a moment in global history where unity is what we need more than ever, this kind of social function, where people with resources get together and pool those resources, then offer a memorable service to others and make their days that much brighter, the Cape car scene stands out as a guiding light.
After all, when a community comes together to support others in that community in need of help, that what they call community resilience, or the ability to prosper despite hard knocks.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za