Residents of Raedene took it upon themselves to beautify their community.
From November last year, resident Roslyn Basserabie initiated and funded the revamping of Dennis Islands outside Moishes Butchery in Raedene.
She named the islands in memory of her husband who passed away last year.
She described how obscene the whole area constituting the islands was, with overgrown grass and dumped litter as they walked and observed it with her late husband. “It was a disaster and it upset me so much.
“Then I decided if the municipality was not coming to do something then I would. When I began, I had three guys to help me, so there were labour costs because they were paid every day. I left a message on the radio and asked residents who wanted to donate plants and a lot of people came and donated plants. Buying the bark and pebbles cost me a lot of money because there was a huge area to cover.”
She added that the rains have helped a lot because when they first planted the agapanthus, they didn’t have flowers, but now they do. The islands also have succulents and maintenance in terms of weeding is required.
Owner of Moishes Butchery, Yaakov Lazarus said that people, in general, have had a good response to the islands. “People who drive past as well as our customers like it. It’s nice and refreshing.”
Sandringham Community Police Forum (CPF) Sector 1 member Tzipporah Berman said the purpose of Dennis Islands was also to beautify their area and, ‘one of the ways to do it is to look at the dilapidated areas and start fixing it up bit by bit’.
“We’re hoping that Dennis Islands will cause a ripple effect and overflow to other areas. This is an initiative done by residents with the help of the Sandringham CPF Sector 1. It’s small things like these that make a difference in our community. The overflow is going to Sandringham Police Station and people who want to come forward and donate are welcome to do so.”
Basserabie encouraged everyone to be responsible for their own pavements and hoped the CPF would help by allocating members to ensure the suburb is looked after.
Details: For more information on how to support the initiative, contact Tzipporah Berman at 072 047 5625.
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