Komatsu gives a six-year-old´s dream wings

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Earlier this year we were honoured to partner with the Reach for a Dream Foundation which has for many years fulfilled the dreams of children with life-threatening illnesses.

Reach for a Dream enriches children's lives by making their dreams come true, distracting them from the needles, medication and hospital environment. Some dreams involve going to the seaside or flying in a helicopter or hot air – Bongani Hadebe’s was to get behind the wheel of a haul truck.

The six-year-old has a condition called renal vascular disease, and is crazy about the massive earthmoving machines he sees close to his home.

Always sympathetic to such requests, management granted immediate permission for Bongani to take his seat in one of our monstrous trucks, and ensured he got a VIP introduction in April.

The little boy was guided onto one of these giants by experienced operator trainer Moses Kgadimonyane, who let him spend some time in the hot seat before driving him around the yard area at our training centre.

Bongani was all smiles after the experience and, according to his mother Mzuzo, has remained so ever since. “We both very much enjoyed the experience as it was the very first time we were able to see these trucks up close,” she says.

Encouraging news is that Bongani is making good progress in the treatment of his condition, and is looking forward to the day he can revisit the machinery he finds so awe inspiring.