A Grade 10 St David’s Marist Inanda pupil, Valerio Vernetti, has used his life orientation project as an opportunity to solve a socio-economic issue in Sandton.
Vernetti said, “We were required to research the prevalence of an issue, such as poverty, safety or violence, and then devise a project plan for our community that could help alleviate this social issue.
“I chose to focus on George Lea Park (north) as I often drive past there and see the squatters who collect waste and recycle it. It was sad to see the pollution, the suffering of the people and the health issues that come with it.”
As part of Vernetti’s project, he came up with a solution. “We need to make waste collecting a viable business and need to come up with plans to make waste collecting more profitable. We should also provide these collectors with masks so that they can be protected from diseases. If they have a proper job, they can pay rent as well and will not have to live as squatters. This decreases crime.”
During the course of his assignment, Vernetti approached a Sandton Chronicle journalist who had been writing about the park for several weeks. “I wanted opinions from the paper as my opinion is not the only one that matters. I wanted to know what solutions the journalist could suggest,” he said.
During his interview, Vernetti asked, “If you were in my situation and had to come up with solutions to this problem what would you do?”
The journalist responded by saying, “As I have done in the past, I would write about this issue. Just as you read the articles in the Sandton Chronicle so, too, will other residents. Writing has the power to spread a message.”
Vernetti said that he was shocked when he read in the Sandton Chronicle article, Tough life in the shadows, Week ending 10 June, that more than 300 squatters live in the park. He was under the impression that only 30 squatters lived there.
The actions of Metro police in removing the vagrants has led to a heated debate. He said, “Unfortunately the actions of Metro offered only a short-term solution. Ultimately the vagrants are going to either come back or just go and live on other land. A temporary tent or structure should have been built in the park to house the squatters until an alternative home was found.”
Vernetti concluded by saying that this school project has a tremendous amount of power. “This task was useful because it has the potential to make pupils think deeper. Pupils have the power to help.”
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History of St David’s Marist Inanda
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