Local children adopt their verge
Savannah Prisley and Xavier Bergh have been sweeping up the leaves and dirt outside of the building where they live, every Sunday, for the past two months.
AFTER residents in Cato Road found that they were not receiving blue bags, which are used to dispose of recyclable matter, such as garden rubbish and leaves, two children who stay on the road took it upon themselves to sweep the excess leaves outside their building to make their environment cleaner for their families and other residents.
Savannah Prisley and Xavier Bergh have been sweeping up the leaves and dirt outside of the building where they live, every Sunday, for the past two months. According to Cato Road resident and Xavier’s father, Christo Bergh, the children volunteered and came up with the idea to sweep the verge two months ago, and since then, they never miss a Sunday. “The kids absolutely love it; it takes about 2 hours every Sunday, depending on the weather, and they never forget about the commitment that they made,” said Christo.
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Christo said that the lack of blue bags means that the children have to gather the leaves and debris in a heap that has been growing by the week. “We have had a heap from six weeks of cleaning gathering dust for a while now,” said Christo.
According to the eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela, “Blue Garden Refuse bags are offered as a convenient alternative for disposal of garden refuse to eThekwini residents; hence, they are not for free. The cost of the blue bags includes the collection and disposal of garden refuse. Residents can take a contract directly with the Municipality for bags to be delivered to their properties on a monthly basis. Alternatively, they can purchase bags from the nearest retail outlet or from the Sizakala Offices. As per the Waste Disposal by-laws, residents are permitted to dispose one bakkie load per week, for free, at their nearest garden site.
For more information, residents can call the Cleansing and Solid Waste offices on 031 311 8804.
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The children say they thoroughly enjoy the task. “We wanted to make it nice and neat and tidy for the other people who live around here. We enjoy it so much!” said seven-year-old Savannah.
Ten-year-old Xavier pitched the initiative that he and Savannah had started at home to his school, where he was able to encourage other children at the school to clean the environment around them. “I thought I would do the same thing at my school. I wanted the kids at my school to learn how to help the environment,” said Xavier.
According to the children, many Cato Road residents have come to thank the little ones for their cleaning contributions. “Lots of residents have said thank you. One lady said we were super heroes without capes and that we were superstars!” said Savannah.
The seven-year-old environmentalist said she wants to be a teacher when she grows up and has dreams to one day ‘pick up all the rubbish in the world’. Xavier is more of a creative and says he wants to be a part-time artist and a part-time singer and also hopes to make the world a better place.
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