By the time most of Cape Town is still asleep, a teenager from Mitchells Plain is already up and at it, earning every cent toward a special night he's determined to pay for himself.
Rudolph Lekay, an 18-year-old matric pupil at Florida High School in Ravensmead, starts his day at 4:30am. He catches a lift to the local taxi and bus rank, where he spends the early hours selling sweets and chips to busy commuters. Then, by 7:20am, he's on his way to school, as News24 reports.
His mission? To save up for his matric dance in October, a celebration he says his family simply can't afford.
Life hasn't always been easy for me and my mother. She's a single parent, having to raise four children on her own. I know deep down in her heart she would've given everything to make sure my matric ball was great, but financial circumstances prevail, Lekay told News24 .
Seeing elderly women selling vetkoek at the taxi rank gave him the idea to start a mini business of his own.