- Fabian Machaba, a longtime employee of Point-S Kuilsriver Tyre & Auto, received the keys to a car after working for the company for 25 years.
- Additionally, his employers gifted him a car he had long admired.
- This heartwarming event filled the day with tears of joy and unforgettable memories.
Tuesday 25 June may have been payday for many. For one faithful worker in Kuils River it was so much more.
It was a day that Fabian Machaba (64) will likely never forget, one that he waited for a very long time.
There was excitement all around when Machaba, an employee of Patrick and Gwen Truter, owners of Point-S Kuilsriver Tyre & Auto, received a call from his wife to say she had received the keys of the house they have been waiting for since 1999.
Everyone cheered and there were tears of joy, but the Truter’s decided they wanted to make his day even more special.
‘Part of who we are’
Machaba who is due to retire next year has been working for the Truter’s for 26 years.
“He is a worker who is never late and always remembers all the clients – he doesn’t forget a name or a car. He is part of who we are,” Gwen said.
A while ago they bought a car of a former client that Machaba used to work on over the years. “He has always been in love with that car,” Gwen said.
When the owner passed on and his wife moved to a retirement home, the Truter’s took the opportunity to buy the car with the idea of giving it to Machaba when he retires.
Gwen said the Machaba’s used to live in a wendy house. “They’ve been struggling to get the house and were on the waiting list since 1999. He was so excited about the house that we decided the time was right. Patrick said: ‘Let’s give him a double surprise’, so we handed him the keys to the car.”
Machaba said it was a very emotional day. “I was crying like a baby.”
He and his wife, in whose name their new house is, moved in the very same day. “We couldn’t wait,” he said.
