He is no Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) agent, but an unemployed Roodepoort citizen with compassion and will to make a difference in the community.
Your tyres have probably been saved a couple of times by Thabo Pororo, the pothole fixer, who has been on a mission for more than a year to repair the damaged roads with few resources.
The 37-year-old pulls his trolley (like a recycler) laden with a bottle of water, sand and a bag of cement around daily hunting for potholes with the aim to save motorists from a puncture or even worse, a broken rim.
After a year of filling potholes without any recognition, a Good Samaritan, Lucia Pereira from Wilgeheuwel finally took note of Thabo’s hard work after seeing him a couple of times doing what he does best.
“I came across him while he was fixing major routes in the Wilgeheuwel area. Lately, I spotted him on the corner of Nic Diederichs Road where I gave him a small donation and challenged him to fix another hole at the entrance of Cascades shopping centre. He gladly obliged, after I had bought him lunch at Del Forno Little Falls,” Lucia explained her first encounter with the soft-spoken Thabo.
Almost a week later, the Northsider arranged an interview with Thabo and Lucia who brought him on time.
Around a dining table with a large menu to choose from, courtesy of Del Forno Little Falls, Thabo chatted about what drove him to do what he does.
“When I lost my job as a cupboard designer, I had nothing to do so I figured I should use the time on my hands to be active and fix potholes,” said the Wilgespruit dweller.
When asked where he gets his resources, Thabo explained that he took the donations from the public to buy a bag of cement every time. “A bag of cement costs about R50 and I usually go around asking for water to complete this task,” he said.
While filling potholes requires some form of experience, for Thabo it was natural as he had worked for a construction company where he mixed cement earlier in his life.
Since this ‘hobby’ does not put food on the table, a caring Lucia has appealed to the community to find him a paying job such as gardening, repairing cupboards or hard labour in construction.
If you have any work for him, contact Thabo on 064 083 1957, or alternatively Lucia on 082 496 7431.
