Ontdekkers Park South Blockwatch celebrates serving the community for over 30 years

The Ontdekkers Park South Blockwatch (OPSB) will be achieving a milestone this year when it celebrates its 30th birthday.

OPSB was started by a group of residents who were concerned by the increase in crime levels thirty years ago, and their first elected chairperson was Elva Baisley. She made it a priority to recruit more members. Elva served in that position for well over 20 years before deciding to hand over the reins to the younger generation.

In the 30 years of its existence, OPSB has only had three chairpersons. After Elva retired, Ricardo Freitas stepped up to the plate and remained chairperson for another two years. Ricardo was succeeded two years later by the current chairperson, Bernard Farrell.

Membership of OPSB has grown in leaps and bounds over the 30 years and today sits at 72 per cent of the total number of residents who live in the Blockwatch precinct. There are currently 619 family units living within the Blockwatch’s borders.

As membership has grown, so have the benefits that the committee have made available to Blockwatch members. Not only is there a close working relationship with the Police in Roodepoort, OPSB also has a contract with Netcare 911 to provide emergency medical assistance should the need arise. Another benefit available to members is the use of a properly qualified trauma counsellor who is available to assist members who have suffered a traumatic incident in their lives.

Various members volunteer their time to patrol the Blockwatch precinct and to assist the Sector 3 Crime Forum whenever necessary.

To celebrate 30 years of serving the OPSB community an ‘Amazing Race’ will be held on Saturday, 13 July. Twenty teams will set off from various starting points in search of the answers to the various clues that will be provided. Prizes will be on offer to the winners and runners-up.

A celebrity category will also be available. This category will be for those people who are members of the Blockwatches that make up the Sector 3 Crime Forum, serving councillors, members of the police and a host of other people.

The winner in this category will receive R500,00 which will be donated to a charity of their choice.

According to Bernard Farrell, the success of OPSB can be attributed to the strong committee that works under him. Each member of the committee has a portfolio to administer and feedback is given at the monthly committee meeting.

The Annual General Meeting for OPSB will take place on 9 April where a new committee will be elected. A guest speaker from Outa (Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse) will also be in attendance.

The venue for the meeting is the Baptist Church Hall situated in Bickel Street, Ontdekkers Park. The meeting gets under way at 7pm.