A dream to bring colour and hope to families experiencing difficulties has been brought to life thanks to one woman’s determination and a very large donation.
Lavender Hill resident, Ellen Pakkies, is no stranger to the hardships life can throw at us. Cape Flats born and bred, she has experienced first-hand the poverty, sadness, violence, fear, suffering and drug abuse that ensues from living in this disadvantaged area. Her story of desperation, which is not unique, caught the world’s attention when she strangled her drug-addicted son after he’d repeatedly vandalised their home. While her story is being made into a movie for the big screen, it was when the TV crew spruced up her home with a lick of paint that an idea struck her.
Drug abuse in Ellen’s area is a serious problem and often leads to conflict, violence, theft, vandalism, empty cupboards and loveless homes. Ellen says,
“It was awful returning home after one of my shifts, to find that our home was destroyed by my son. I asked for assistance from everyone, but no-one would help me. It is still a problem today. Nobody really wants to help, parents don’t care about the appearance of their homes, and the youth do whatever they want.”
While her home received a makeover for the film entitled Ellen, Die Storie van Ellen Pakkies, looking around her, Ellen saw many women in a similar situation, in the depths of despair where homes had become loveless, empty shells, dreary with neglect.
Seeing how a renovation project could bring colour and hope to a home and families experiencing difficulties, she used the left-over paint from her house to give houses and other buildings in her area a fresh new coat.
The idea sparked off a bigger project and Ellen says, “In this way we can also involve young people, who don’t always know where to look for work. It can help motivate them and help keep them out of trouble.”
For mothers, Ellen believes it would help them to once again love the place they live in even though their kids rob them of everything else when they get caught in the web of drugs.
“A little colour and clean house can have a huge impact on a heavy heart,” she says.
During her first exclusive radio interview about the movie, with Rian van Heerden on Jacaranda FM’s The Scenic Drive with Rian on 27 June 2018, she opened up about the special project she launched in an attempt to uplift and revive poverty-stricken communities in the Cape Flats, like Lavender Hill where she is from.
According to her, there are many women living in the depths of despair; women whose homes are loveless, empty shells that have become dreary and derelict, as a result of ongoing drug abuse in the area.
Ellen was surprised in the middle of the interview, when paint manufacturer, Plascon, phoned in to announce that the company will be contributing 200 x 20L tins (4 000 litres in total) of Plascon Easy Living Paint towards her cause. In addition to this, the Plascon Training Academy has also pledged to train 20 nominated unemployed youths in the community, in the application and preparation of Plascon Easy Living. They will receive a Plascon certificate, a starter kit to get them on their feet and ultimately a skill to use to improve their circumstances.
“Ellen’s work is an endorsement of Plascon’s Designed for Life philosophy and clearly demonstrates the power that something as seemingly simple as paint and colour on a wall or piece of furniture, has the capacity to make life-altering changes. We are one hundred percent behind Ellen as she takes the initiative to enrich and enhance the lives of the people who live in her community,” says Plascon’s Decorative Business Unit Head, Katlego Kondlo, about why they decided to become part of this initiative.
“We are humbled by Ellen’s insight into how lives can be changed for the better and proud to be part of something so much bigger than ourselves. Giving the community the tools to improve their own circumstances certainly shows how a little colour can play a significant role in changing a life.”
Clearly thankful and emotional about this huge contribution, Ellen revealed that it was the film about her life that inspired the idea for the project in the first place. After filming was finalised, the production team had her home painted and renovated.
Using the paint left over from her house, she gave houses and other buildings in her area that were in desperate need, a fresh new coat. She then realised the impact a renovation project such as this could have on her community.
“In this way we can also involve young people, who don’t always know where to look for work. It can help motivate them and help them stay out of trouble,” she explains.
“It can also help mothers to again love the place where they live, because although their love for their families are ever-present, kids manage to rob them of everything else when they get caught in a web of drugs. A little colour and a clean house can have a huge impact on a heavy heart. Paint plays an important role when it comes to household items, because it can so easily make everything look new, making everyone feel good in the process.”
The other need is, of course, to replace the basic items that have been looted, so that households can function normally again. Even items such as stoves and cutlery are stolen; what is left behind is often broken and useless. New or second-hand furniture contributions are, therefore, also very welcome.
Anyone can participate in this project. A few tins of paint and some of those, seemingly useless, items from your storeroom, may not be of great value to you, but it can literally change a community.
ELLEN, THE STORY OF ELLEN PAKKIES is the true story of the stormy relationship between a mother (Jill Levenberg) and her drug-addict son, Abie (Jarrid Geduld), resulting in his death as well as a court case. The film delves into the inner psyche of a family ravaged by drugs in one of the most dangerous communities in South Africa. A scourge that extends beyond the Cape Flats and highlights a systematic failure to protect the poorest of the poor.
This gripping crime drama, by acclaimed director Daryne Joshua (Noem My Skollie), is already a hit with overseas audiences and was showcased at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, as well as the 44th annual Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) in the USA. It will be released in local cinemas on 7 September 2018, was produced in by The Moving Billboard Picture Company in collaboration with M-Net, kykNET Films, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and will be distributed by Filmfinity (Pty) Ltd.
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