September 26, 2007
By Millicent Kgowedi
LEARNERS in Cosmo City are devoting part of their week-long school holidays to cleaning up their environment, working alongside community leaders on a three-day cleaning campaign.
They gathered at the corner of South Africa and Angola streets in extension six on Tuesday, 25 September, to gear up for the cleaning campaign. Cosmo City, in the northwest of Johannesburg, is a brand-new greenfields housing development; the clean-up was held for the first time last year with the area's first residents, and it will be an annual event.
Kicking off the clean-up campaign: representatives of the local residents Rudolph Monyela, Gladys Thlapa, Jennifer Mbushe and Stanley Mahlalela
It was a dusty, overcast and windy morning, with a slight chill in the air, making it a challenge for the youngsters to arrive on time.
Waiting for the youngsters, Jennifer Mbushe, a community liaison officer in Cosmo City, said they were probably sleeping in "especially today because it's cold and it's the first day of their holidays, but they will be here".
She then began driving around the neighbourhood with a loud speaker, reminding people to join the big clean up.
Some 80 children gathered to help in the big clean-up.
It is a joint effort, with the community providing the workers and Pikitup, the City's refuse removal agency, distributing plastic bags and collecting full bags from street corners at the end of the day.
But it isn't all hard work: Joburg Water has supplied sachets of water and Primedia has sponsored snacks and juice. "Churches and clinics have also contributed to the food and drinks that we will be serving our helpers in the next three days of the campaign," Mbushe said.
Stanley Mahlalela, another community liaison officer, kicked off the campaign with a lesson on the importance of keeping the environment clean. He said that it was not about the number of people undertaking the campaign, but about it was what this little group could do to make the environment friendlier.
"I am overwhelmed by the fact that the little ones are dominating the group present here today. They will grow up knowing that their environment should be kept clean and everybody is responsible for the environment that they live in," Mahlalela said.
After the talk, a local crèche, Ikhwezi, performed a few songs. Dressed in traditional outfits, the youngsters sang and danced with the founder and principal of the crèche, Busi Sibika.
Then it was time to get to work. The children were divided into groups of 10 and given Pikitup bags and gloves. They were taken under adult supervision to different areas of extension two. The clean-up will cover extension zero to extension six by the end of the week.
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