News24 | Matric ball time: Viral sweet-selling pupil gets ready with dashing suit, one last sale

Mitchells Plain matriculant Rudolph Lekay went viral earlier this year for his entrepreneurial venture of selling sweets to pay for his matric ball. His day has finally arrived.

• It is matric ball day for Mitchells Plain teenager Rudolph Lekay.
• He went viral earlier this year when a video of him selling R2 sweets was posted on various social media platforms.
• Rudolph is set to be chauffeured in a top-of-the-range Porsche Panamera 4 to his big day on Friday evening.

The day before any exciting matric ball is always filled with last-minute rushing around as families and the pupil of the moment scramble to get all last-minute preparations done for the big day, but for Mitchells Plain teenager Rudolph Lekay that was not the case.

Instead, the bubbly, yet shy teen was up at his usual 04:00 call time to get ready to sell his R2 sweets at 05:00 at the popular Mitchells Plain Town Centre, just hours before his matric ball.

In June, News24 reported the pupil had a R10 000 goal to fund his matric ball, including his ticket to the dance, suit, and vehicle escort to the venue.

He reached that goal above and beyond within two days, after many readers, both on News24 and elsewhere, supported him when his story went viral.

Hundreds of News24 readers and donors deposited money into the family account, with major cash donations coming from South Africans living in the US, China, and even Singapore.

YouTuber Renaldo Gouws, who set up a BackaBuddy account to help Rudolph reach his dream, donated a separate cash injection of just over R70 000 to the family.

That money was handed to the family in August.

The Lekay family confirmed receipt of the cheque and said it was banked for Rudolph’s university of choice.

“That money will not be touched,” his pensioner mom, Rosaline, said.

READ | Matric ball dream come true: News24 readers help R2 sweet-selling pupil reach goal

And so, even with all the money collected for Rudolph, it did not stop him from continuing to sell his sweets and chips until the day before the ball.

“The matric ball isn’t going to run away from me. But I have very loyal clients who buy my sweets daily before they enter their various 06:30 public transports.

“So, I show up for them because they support my dream,” said Rudolph.

‘Yay, yo matric ball time’

He told News24 that when he arrived in the Town Centre on Thursday morning, his “regular customers” whistled, clapped, and chanted, “Yay, yo matric ball time”, while others said: “Enjoy every minute of the ball because you worked your ass off.”

Rudolph said he felt an immense sense of pride as almost every person he walked by to sell the sweets wished him nothing but good vibes and happiness for his life.

“This is what I was working for. To know that I did this for myself, I wanted to sell my sweets to fund what I wanted for my matric ball. I had a vision, and it’s paying off.

He added:

“They are the ones who saw my dream and contributed to it,” a smiling Rudolph said.

And it is that sheer tenacity to want to make a success of his life that prompted him to continue selling the sweets long after his R10 000 goal had been reached earlier this year.

That suit smile

On Thursday afternoon, Rudolph collected his suit from Lucy’s Boutique, which Phillida Jonas owns in Parow.

Jonas designed and made Rudolph’s beige suit from scratch, which took her about three weeks to complete.

She was one of the sponsors who reached out to the Lekay family to offer her services, free of charge.

“I think everyone was stressing about this matric ball specifically because he was featured in the media and people know him from the news, so the pressure was on to make sure I don’t disappoint the young man,” said Jonas.

READ | Meet the viral matric pupil selling R2 sweets at a taxi rank to pay for his matric ball

She added Rudolph gave her the “biggest, best hug” when he arrived at her doorstep shortly after 12:00 on Thursday to collect his suit.

“I feel like a proud mommy knowing that I was able to contribute to his big day. He is going to look so incredibly handsome.

Jonas said:

While the Lekay family is set to pull out all the stops for Rudolph’s big night, the Grade 12 pupil still has his feet on the ground.

“Matric ball, then back to the books because those final exams are not going to write themselves,” said Rudolph.

News24 will be at his big night as the News24 Motoring section chauffeurs him in a Porsche Panamera 4 to the venue at Skilpadvlei Wine Farm, which is nestled between Stellenbosch and Kuils River.

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