To reach your goals and dreams you must push hard. But no matter how hard you push, it’s not always enough. Often it is only through collective strength, “Sisonke”, that dreams can come true.
Sisonke for the dream of a set of wheels
Ask Lust Gonhi, 29, an Uber driver from Cape Town. Was it not for an initiative from his friend’s church he would not be the proud owner of a Suzuki Ciaz 2024 model today. Not that the Golden Tree Project gave him a handout. On the contrary, he had to work very hard for his dream.
“Us Uber drivers get paid every Tuesday. And every Tuesday we pay R3 000 into the Golden Tree Project,” he explains. Collectively with this pot of money, each of the 49 people involved get a turn to spend R200 000 on the car of their dreams.
This he told The South African when we met up with him during his workday.
Persistence pays off
A year ago, on 5 December 2024, Gonhi made his first payment – the R3 000 joining fee. At that time, he was renting his Uber vehicle, a Toyota Etios, for R2 500 a week.
“You have to make it happen,” he laughs. “Once you are in, there is no reverse.”
When, after his joining fee payment, he already saw the picture of the first beneficiary’s car he knew the Golden Tree Project – that works similar to a “stokvel” – would also make his dream come true.
Gonhi worked from 04:00 to 23:00 during that time. Until August this year when he, as number 28 of the 49 beneficiaries in the project, got his R200 000 to buy a car. His friend was number 24 and bought a Toyota Corolla.
The cars are still in the name of the Golden Tree Project until all beneficiaries receive their payouts. This ensures that they keep paying the R3000 every Tuesday until sometime in March next year when the last payout is expected. Then the car will go onto Gonhi’s name and, at last, his only job expense will be fuel and insurance of R2000 per month.
Together, dreams thrive
“I like being an Uber driver, you must just be neutral. If you talk to me, I talk to you.”
And you might just hear that the spirit of Sisonke is the driver for dreams coming true in Mzansi.
