Just imagine the scene, it’s your eighth birthday, you’re into kwaai karre big time and you walk out of your front door to find the street lined with cars.
Little Kenzo-Lee Amos was speechless when exactly that happened to him on Saturday.
But first, here’s how it all started. Tracey tells of how, as a single mom, she is finding ways to introduce her son to the traditional boy stuff. So she took him to Honda Day recently and says: “He was blown away and really loved the S2000. In fact, he said at the time that his birthday wish was to go in a fast car. Actually it was the S2000 that he had his eye on.”
Like any resourceful mother, Tracey took to social media to get in the know as to what was happening on the Cape Town car scene, and next took Kenzo-Lee to a dyno day at Dynotech. Somewhere in the mix she linked up with Ricardo Manuel of Facebook channel Capetona Live, which features a live chat show every Monday at 8.30pm, covering the local car scene.
Ricardo, 27, from Mitchells Plain, tells Bobby Nitro: “Kenzo-Lee’s wish was to get up close with some cool local cars, so I reached out to Shahiem Bell of TPDZ and the organisers of Supporting People in Need NPO (SPIN), who make it their business to do these kinds of uplifting initiatives in the community.”
B’DAY BOY: Kenzo-Lee Amos, 8. Photo: Shahiem Bell.
Back to Tracey in Kuilsriver, who says: “So it’s the Saturday morning of my son’s birthday and I told him we would have a party and that there was a surprise. Then I called him outside and the look on his face was priceless as he saw the row of top notch cars lining the street. He literally did not know how to react.”
Among those present were Adie Lakay in his Skyline R33 GTR, Faizel Rajie in his Lexus Cabriolet, Alie Brown from Alie’s Place with a spin car, Ruben and Brendan with their classic Datsuns.
Ricardo adds: “My top moment of the day has to be the moment when that kid’s face just lit up as he saw the convoy.”
CLASSIC: Ruben & Brendan’s classic Datsuns repping. Photo: Shahiem Bell.
There’s no doubt that the crew made Kenzo-Lee’s dream come true, which as an eight-year-old, you can imagine, turns the world into something magical, a place where dreams can come true.
The boy got to go for a ride in a Lexus and a GTR as well as a Beemer or two, and even for a short spin. His mom says that later that night he did have a sore tummy.
Initiatives like this are simply not possible without the support of the Cape car crews.
SING ALONG: The karkoppe sang Happy Birthday for Kenzo. Photo: Shahiem Bell.
Shahiem, of TPDZ, says: “After we heard of this idea, as we always do, we called on car enthusiasts to join in to create an everlasting memory for this young boy.
“The feeling of selflessly doing what we love, is always overwhelming when you see the reaction of any recipient, when their wish is to just see our rides up close, let alone get taken for a spin.”
Tracey adds: “The Sunday after the event, Kenzo-Lee asked me which car show were we going to today!”
SITTING PRETTY: Kenzo’s aunt, Keisha Amos, testing a bike. Photo: Shahiem Bell.
One thing’s for sure, such a kwaai childhood experience will leave Kenzo-Lee a follower of the Cape Town car scene. Tracey says: “I would like to thank everyone involved for coming out and making Kenzo-Lee’s birthday wish possible. We really appreciate it.”