Locals conduct a clean-up campaign at Bara Taxi Rank and its surroundings
"People could not stand working without making money but we push because we want companies and other stakeholders to notice us one day."
A group residents from Diepkloof Zone 6 have taken the cleanliness of Bara Taxi Rank and surrounding area upon themselves by volunteering to clean in the early mornings and evenings.
The volunteering initiative is known as the Wellness Programme and was started in February by seven local residents splitting themselves into pairs as they clean the area.
It covers the taxi rank, Lesedi Clinic, Bara Hospital Bridge, local shops as well as where street venders are placed.
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According to the coordinator of the Wellness Programme, Monde Mtenjana, they initially started as an environmental awareness education where they taught local primary schools about environmental awareness and later moved to a cleaning campaign with an aim of getting rid of illegal dumping sites.
“When we were busy with those projects, I noticed that our taxi rank is usually left unattended when it comes to cleanliness. So with the same group members, we started cleaning the area,”Mtenjana said.
He added that the programme had about 20 volunteers at the beginning but since it does not generate income, more members started pulling out.
“People could not stand working without making money but we push because we want companies and other stakeholders to notice us one day.
“We have companies that have already absorbed our group members to work for them and it gives us assurance because these people have volunteered for long in our programme.”
Due to its busy nature, the area is known for being always littered with plastics, cardboards and other form of litter.
However, since the start of the Wellness Programme, the area is now seen clean in the early mornings and evenings and not even the lack of equipment can stop the team from doing their job.
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“We have been posting our work on social media platforms and we are amazed by the responses we receive from residents. One of our challenges is that we use old brooms so it becomes difficult to do the job smoothly and we are hoping that sponsors can come on board to assist us also with funding so that we can be able to put food on the table for our families,” said Mtenjana.
They thanked all the stakeholders who support and appreciate the work they do including the Bara City Taxi Owners Association who helped with cleaning material.
