31/07/2025
Thatās it. Thatās the end of Whelma.
A year ago I wanted to buy a car.
Instead, I paid R120 000 to drive less than 200km in an old ambulance with a ceramic toilet and an awning that I never used.
I named it the Whelmbulance, and soon she got the nickname Whelma (Dankies Trens) as her personality started showing.
If you ever met her, youād know; she always had my back.
She was the best mistake Iāve ever made.
I bought my dream before it had a chance to form -
to drive across Southern Africa, gradually turning this van into a travelling classroom.
To help kids whose parents canāt afford supplementary education.
To provide sanctuary at events for the overwhelmed.
To prove that purpose matters more than profit.
I found her on Facebook Marketplace (first mistake, I know).
I believed a straight, white, Afrikaans man who told me heād never let a girl like me drive a van that would break down on her trips across Africa ā instead of listening to my gut.
What I saw was a beautiful bus I could call home, classroom, camper, future.
What I got was breakdowns. Literally and emotionally.
And still ā I would do it all again in a heartbeat.
This isnāt a eulogy.
But I canāt begin to explain how grateful I am to the people who supported this dream, even though it was destined to fail.
The ones who hugged me and calmed me down when I cried from anger, joy, heartbreak, pride, guilt, and relief.
I whelm you.
There are many reasons why I share my stories.
But hereās the short of it:
I gave up on Whelma after a year.
Iām not giving up on Whelma 2.0.
And Iām going to need support in ways I canāt even predict yet.
