“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams,” the remarkable woman, Eleanor Roosevelt, once said. This is true of Thabo Kolodi, who first caught the attention of the Herald in 2018 when he realised his dream of building his own double-storey house.

The house consists of corrugated iron and scrap material he had collected since 2015. With its seven rooms, a verandah, balcony, and garden, it is quite a landmark in Ikageng. His house has even inspired a senior lecturer in Urban and Regional Planning at the North-West University, Karen Puren. She now takes her fourth-year students to visit Thabo’s house every year to learn about self-built housing.

Thabo Kolodi in front of the double-storey house he built with his own two hands. Photo: Marianke Saayman

At this house, Thabo and four women have started a soup kitchen to feed kids over weekends. “Most of these children only get food at school during weekdays. They don’t have anything to eat on Saturdays or Sundays. Their parents are usually not at home either,” says Thabo whose heart belongs to the children in his community. Not only does he provide them with food, but also safety.

He doesn’t have much pity for grown-ups. “People are not poor. They think poorly. They must change their mindset and stop blaming their past,” says Thabo, who believes one must never wait for others to change your circumstances.

It was this soup kitchen that inspired him to dream further. “As a gardener, I thought it would be great to start a vegetable garden to provide for the soup kitchen,” says Thabo. He was aware of an open field in Extension 11 that was earmarked for RDP-housing. The ground was lying there and, since no building project was underway, he thought it would be a sin to let it go to waste. In fact, it was becoming a rubbish dump, since people in the surrounding area were dumping their waste in the field.

He spoke to the ward councilor and, after getting consent from the municipality, he started with the big project.

His enthusiasm and positive mindset have also motivated other community members to join the project. They are now busy changing a polluted area into a sustainable community garden.

They started by cleaning the area and removing all the household waste. Four women nearby collected the recyclable material for an extra income. Thabo bought wire and used wild reeds to fence off a garden area to keep the animals out. They then removed all the rocks and grass, fertilised the soil and are now preparing vegetable beds for planting.

Before: Thabo and community members cleaning up the rubbish dump.

He is inviting more people to join. “Helpers don’t get paid, but they will be rewarded at the end when the vegetables are harvested. It also gives them a sense of purpose. A lot of people are bored because they’re not working. This garden keeps people busy in a positive manner,” says Thabo, who is also concerned about the high rate of unemployment in Ikageng.

When the Herald visited the vegetable garden, people who were excited about the project also came along. Karen Puren from the university handed Thabo a new garden fork and Cecilia Marais from Fresh Pick donated strawberry plants. Cecilia and one of her employees, Johannes Motsweneng, also taught them how to plant the strawberries. They are willing to support the garden project by donating seedlings, helping with irrigation and lessons in vegetable gardening.

Cecilia Marais, Thabo Kolodi and Karen Puren.

Thabo also shows us his worm compost heaps on the side and shares his dream of expanding and maybe keeping chickens too. He hopes to inspire residents in other wards to do the same.

This wise man with the green fingers is prepared to work hard to realise his dreams. He works as a gardener in town from 8:00 until 15:00 from Mondays to Fridays. After work, he spends the rest of his time at this community garden, often until 19:00.

“The world doesn’t owe us anything. We owe the world,” says the man who is a living example of his Christian values.

People who want to donate to or join the garden project are welcome to contact Thabo at 064 046 0391.