Although material things are useful, there’s no doubt about that, it’s the experiences that is forever.
And today Bobby Nitro has a story of one such experience delivered to deserving people that they will never forget.
One of the best ways to give back is to give individuals in your community an experience they will always remember, that they can tell their grandkids about. And we mean grandkids, literally, because the beneficiaries in this case were the elderly of the Cape Flats.
Spine Road High School has for the past 21 years hosted a lunch for the elderly on Heritage Day.
It started small but has grown into an anticipated annual occasion.
The event is traditionally hosted by the Grade 11s, who deck the school hall out with dining tables, lay on a three-course meal and this year, a joyride in a Lamborghini Huracan, the 2016 model no less, supplied free of charge by Limousine Extreme, a luxury car hire company based in Goodwood.
Bobby Nitro spoke to Riyaadh Najaar, the school principal, after the event.
He says: “It started in 1995, initiated by teachers Achmat Jabaar and Razak Peck, who are still teachers and involved in the lunch.
“With over 800 pensioners attending this year, our Grade 11 learners had their hands full in raising funds, organising and making sure the day went smoothly.
“They served lunch, treated the pensioners like VIPs and provided entertainment. There were even massage tables this year.”
Bobby can only imagine that the Lamborghini Huracan parked out front must have gotten people curious. Vivienne van der Schuur, the manager of Limousine Extreme, says: “People were stopping to stare, one even asked if the Lambo was ‘from another planet’, and then when the announcement was made that one of our chauffeurs Patrick would be taking people for a ride, the excitement mounted.”
Vivienne was herself a learner at Spine Road High, and has three kids at the school. Her daughter Nadine is in Grade 11, and when she suggested the Lambo idea, the mom thought it “was awesome”.
One 95-year-old went for a ride in the supercar. Apparently, when he returned, says Riyaadh, he reported excitedly, “die hare op my kop het opgestaan.”
Well, in 5.2-litre naturally aspirated V10 that delivers 450kW to all four wheels and does zero to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds, we can only imagine the thrill.
This supercar has even got a safety cover over the starter button, presumably to give you time to consider carefully what you’re about to let yourself in for before you start the motor.
Weighing 1422kg, it’s a mid-engine car to help with balance, which becomes an important factor when you push it to the claimed 320km/* limit. The interior is high-end leather and state-of-the-art tech.
The Lambo thrilled the pensioners, who were apparently queuing up and eager for a spin. Vivienne says there were many “oh my words” when the V10 roared into life.
She adds: “The 95-year-old man told us about how as a youngster he had always loved cars, and that for him to ride in the Huracan was no less than a dream come true.”
The school principal Riyaadh says: “Many of the older people in our community have not even been in a car for years, they are stuck at home watching the kids while their own grown children are out at work.
“So once a year we give them this extra special treatment, and it is so rewarding to see the smiles on people’s faces, the expressions of genuine joy and gratitude.”