Not content with waiting for eThekwini Municipality to clean up the Toti River, a group of civic-minded volunteers have started tackling the water hyacinth problem.
Members of the Army Saints organisation and volunteers cut and pulled the weeds out of the river and lagoon, and they will be back in action this weekend.
“Army Saints is an organisation of soldiers, sergeants, supporters and successors who are focused on making a difference in this world,” said founder, Shaun Callaghan, who started the local organisation four years ago under the banner of the Saints Network. Six months ago, he revamped the website and renamed it Army Saints. Sergeants include Shaun, Chanel Geldenhuys, Dane De Klerk and Justine Purcell.
“Our core principles are no money, no religion and no politics. We are an army of volunteers and companies that help out charities and organisations that are in need of some aid.
We don’t rally for money, but with the help of companies who supply us with materials needed for every project, and our volunteers who offer their skills, we visit these places and do some amazing work.”
In 2011, Army Saints built cages at Toti SPCA. At the Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) it built cages for the geese, prepared the baboon enclosure, painted the walls and trimmed all the trees. It shaded a veggie farm, painted the walls, dug a sand-pit, built a small swimming pool and fixed all the plumbing at Vulinqondo Pre-School.
At Mother of Peace in Illovo the Saints repainted the soccer stadium and helped fix all residents’ plumbing issues.
At God’s Treasure Chest they finished building a bush camp for orphans, painted, cleaned, replaced broken windows, fixed the entire plumbing system, rewired the electricity, fitted doors, kitchen counters, placed 10 bunk beds with bedding, and equipped the kitchen with necessary items.
A group of 20 soldiers helped fix-up a house for a woman who had a car accident in Kloof.
“We are just a group of locals who are tired of everyone complaining and having meeting after meeting with no results,” said sergeant, Justine Purcell.
“We decided to get our hands dirty and just do it.
With the river restoration project, we were told that it isn’t the right procedure and we were threatened with hefty fines, but we went there and did it anyway. Now look at the progress we have made.
Shaun organised a bunch of guys who had no jobs to come clean out the river for donations of food and clothing, which we all supported.”
As awareness grew, the initial band of 25 helpers grew to 60 the following weekend.
“Last weekend a number of people were away supporting the Comrades, but a small team of between 30 and 35 still went to tackle the water hyacinth at the Toti Lagoon outside Ollies.
This weekend we plan on tackling the Toti River again by the skate park on Sunday morning at 10am.” The group will tackle a different part of the river every Sunday.
For more information on the organisation and its activities, visit the Army Saints Facebook page or the website www.armysaints.com.
