Ellen Pakkies visits SSS

Octavia Tsibes
Indirah Naobes

Ellen Pakkies is a well-known South African motivational speaker and social activist, but she is mostly known for taking her youngest of three sons, Abie Pakkies life out of fear and desperation in 2007. Abie was addicted to crystal meth (tik) and he later on started abusing his mom and on top of that stole everything of value in the house. Ellen tried going to the police, to social workers and even went to the extent of taking her son to court, but she received no help whatsoever. The system failed her miserably. In 2007, she took her son’s life and handed herself over to the police. Her case was finalized in 2013 where she received a three year suspended sentence along with community service.

In partnership with CODAC, the Coastal Drug Awareness Campaign, Ellen took visited Swakopmund Secondary School on the 2nd July 2019 to educate learners on the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse. CODAC is a Walvis Bay based organization, fighting against drug and alcohol abuse. CODAC decided to invite Ellen to share her living testimony on the effects of drugs.

Talking to the learners of SSS, Ellen relived her life story. She was abused throughout her life; she was raped and kidnaped multiple times from the age of 4 until 29 years of age. She was married four times because she felt she wasn’t loved by her parents and she ended up looking for love at the wrong places, as she didn’t have anybody to stand by and correct her when she made mistakes. Ellen said she was bullied a lot at school and she had no friends as no one liked her and they always judged her. “Even those I thought of as friends hurt me. I grew up lonely, but I never asked God why and I always took on life with a smile.”

Now at the age of 58 she is aimed at preventing teenagers from making the same life choices her son Abie had made.

The SSS Times approached a few learners to hear what they had to say after Ellen visited the school.

Megan Hoaes said, “Her confidence made me speechless, I learned a lot and I will teach it to others.”

“Everything Ellen said to us was very motivational, inspiring and she is a wonderful woman who knows how to make you smile”, said Cassandra Cloete a grade 12 learner at SSS.