Evelyn Onalenna Direng was quietly being shaped by grief and adversity into a force to be reckoned with in the taxi industry, says the writer.
The transport industry remains largely male-dominated. On the roads, the constant buzz of taxis and non-compliant drivers racing to drop off passengers and earn the day’s wage is a familiar scene.
Yet, in the small town of Kathu in the Northern Cape, a young girl named Evelyn Onalenna Direng was quietly being shaped by grief and adversity into a force to be reckoned with in the taxi industry. Raised by a single mother who worked as a domestic helper, Evelyn experienced loss early in life. After a long struggle with illness, her mother passed away when Evelyn was just nine years old.
“It was hard for me to accept that my mother had passed away. We were very close, and she was the only relative I lived with”.
To stay alive, Evelyn moved to Deurham, Kuruman, Northern Cape, South Africa, to stay with her grandmother, to complete her primary and high school studies.
