Community does it for themselves
“Our community members and the surrounding businesses donate every month and that assists in buying refuse bags, gloves and masks.”
The community of Moshoeshoe Section, Katlehong, united to initiate the Fito la Sethjaba cleaning and maintenance campaign.
The campaign will address issues around environmental wellness and illegal dumping in the area.
The residents brought their own tools to start their long-term commitment to keep their environment clean and ditch illegal dumping sites, beginning with the sports grounds, on May 20.
According to community leadership chairperson Moeti Moloi (45), this project is ongoing. Not only will they clean, but they must implement their maintenance plan to prevent people again illegally dumping in spaces they have cleaned.
He said the community contributed R10 to buy plastics and water for volunteers. However, this month, every household will contribute R20 to pay 15 people the community identified to do the maintenance.
“It does not help to abandon the area after cleaning it because, after two days, the waste piles up again. It requires maintenance. However, it is still a challenge because not everyone is willing to contribute, but most of us are,” said Moloi.
He said they try and communicate the message to the residents at community meetings.
Moloi further noted that they were aware that some families could not afford it. However, they encouraged them to be involved in the community activities.
“There are other ways people can contribute, like lending a helping hand during cleaning campaigns or other activities.”
“We have a database of unemployed people in the community, and even chose the 15 people selected to do maintenance chosen from it,” he said.
The community has formed various departments to address the issues that affect them. These departments include communication, labour and opportunities, social, environmental, safety and security, infrastructure, sports, and arts and culture.
A resident under the environmental portfolio, Maki Kganyago (53), said it was vital for them to ensure they had a clean and healthy environment.
She said the aim is to educate the community members about living in cleaner surroundings.
“This initiative does not only benefit us. It benefits our children who use these sports grounds and recreational parks. With the community’s support, we can achieve a lot by combating and preventing heinous crimes from happening,” noted Kganyago.
“We do not receive any assistance from the municipality, so it is up to us to step up and do it for ourselves. Thereafter, we still need to ensure that our sports grounds and parks are always kept clean and safe and eliminate turning these spaces into illegal dumping sites.”
Another resident, Stone Mofokeng (54), said the informal settlement was becoming a slum because of the lack of service delivery.
“We have not encountered these issues in many decades. Littering is endemic and affects the mind and our health. Our community is unique, and we all grew up under the guidance of selflessness and patriotic leadership,” said Mofokeng.
He said they wanted to forge partnerships with the municipal departments and relevant stakeholders.
“We have requested two large waste bins. They will be put in an identified site to be routinely picked by our waste management department. We are aware that all nearest landfill sites are full and closed. We need intervention from our municipality.”
The community also boosts a neighbourhood watch patrollers team by monitoring all the areas for illegal dumping.
“Our community members and the surrounding businesses donate every month. That assists in buying refuse bags, gloves and masks,” he said.
“We plead with the good Samaritans out there to give donations of any kind to sustain our programmers.”
