‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’
ROSSMORE – The University of Johannesburg's students are playing their part in cleaning the city.
City of Johannesburg Mayor, Herman Mashaba’s A Re Sebetseng has caught on across the city – even among students.
The World Mission Society Church of God’s student and youth members took to cleaning the area outside the University of Johannesburg Kingsway Campus on 22 November for their very own version of A re Sebetseng.
Their clean-up is called Mother’s Street which is a World Mission Society project to clean every street and ultimately change the entire globe. Congregant Thando Matutu said the church is cleaning and loving the community’s environment like a mother loves her children, which is how the name came about.
Earlier this year, the church held a clean-up for the Campus Environmental Clean-up campaign in which 80 international universities participated. Jihan Kang, of the church, said the most recent clean-up will not be their last. He explained that they are planning many more clean-ups, but each time in a different area.
While the area falls into councillor Bridget Steer’s ward, councillor Genevieve Sherman instead met with students while they were out cleaning, and during a break, she addressed them and thanked them for their contribution to cleaning the city.
Sherman said their initiative falls in line with the A re Sebetseng project. She expressed her excitement that the project is spreading across the city.
While Sherman was happy the area was being cleaned, she explained that A re Sebetseng is about more than just cleaning – it’s about making residents conscious about littering to eliminate the problem at its root.
Sherman and the church are excited about working together in cleaning the city. “Having a clean city leads to having a clean mind,” Sherman said.
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