WATCH: Lawley residents spend their Mandela Day uplifting their community

Lawley community members belonging to the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) commemorated their 67 minutes of Mandela Day by doing a clean-up on July 17.

The day was fruitful for the 20 dedicated residents who came through on the day to clean the community’s biggest football pitch and then marked the pitch’s borders again. Both young and old came through on the day. While actively lending a helping hand, they also cautiously maintained social distancing.

Organiser Sibonelo Mtshali told the COURIER that their Mandela Day celebration was largely aimed at developing the community’s most-loved football pitch.

“For us, celebrating 67 minutes for Mandela Day is basically every day. We chose this pitch because from our upbringing, we have never seen any progress being brought forward on this pitch. It was also because it unites people, which is what we are all about, unity. We are simply preparing it for when everything gets back to normal,” said Mtshali.

Mtshali also said they have many plans in place to bring more development to the football ground and the community as a whole.

“We have been very hands-on in the community in trying to bring growth. We recently sponsored a community netball team with sports gear. We are also planning on putting up a tap on this pitch to promote hygiene as means to curb the spread of the virus,” he said.

Mandla Madondo, a community activist who also offered his time on the day, reiterated that they wanted the football pitch to be in good condition.

“Even though there isn’t any participation currently taking place, we wanted to make sure that the football ground is in a good state. This is where many community members get together and this ground is in the eyes of the community. Everyone was glad to lend a helping hand today,” he said.