‘CLEANLINESS is next to Godliness’ were the words that were instilled in Thandie Ngonelo (64) at a very young age by her grandmother and mother.
Westville resident, fondly known as Mam Thandie, is a mom, wife, grandmother, author, preacher’s wife, former teacher and principal, motivational speaker, beauty queen, living legend, counsellor and she picks up litter from the streets.
She has also adopted a spot in Essex Terrace Road which she cleans and paints regularly.
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Apron, broom, rake, gloves, black bags and a painting brush is what you will find in Mam Thandie’s car.
“We moved from Johannesburg 17 years ago and to speak the truth, this place used to be so beautiful, it was clean and green. Our surroundings are not clean anymore.
“I come from a very clean family and I truly believe that even if I cannot clean the whole area, the bit I do makes a difference, even on Sundays, we never start church before cleaning around,” said Mam Thandie.
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“It’s very sad that it has become a norm that our country should be dirty. People litter everywhere, they just do not care. I wish that every person can make it a habit to clean their surroundings, our country would be very beautiful.
“It is us that makes the environment dirty and we should teach children at a young age that papers need to be put in dustbins.”
Sometimes she feels as if she is fighting a losing battle when she returns from work to find papers in the same spot she cleaned earlier.
“On the wall that I paint, I sometimes find graffiti, but guess what, I go back and clean up again.”
She said sometimes she asks the boys who beg for money in the streets to help her. “They have to learn to work for money,” she said.
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