In Joburg, we have numerous reasons to feel depressed. The government is dysfunctional. Unexplained gas explosions destroy the last vestiges of an already crumbling infrastructure, and fires kill people in places where no one should be living. On my worst and most curmudgeonly days, I wonder if I should get out and leave it all behind, but then there is the other, far less visible side of Joburg’s energy that brings me back like the proverbial boomerang.
Read more: WORLD CLEANUP DAY IN JOHANNESBURG- ONE MORE RIPPLE IN THE POND
As one organiser in Johannesburg’s massive World Cleanup Day initiative, I have encountered astoundingly dedicated individuals and groups of individuals from every corner of the city who are committed to changing their portion of the world. The Gogos in Alexandra who, against all odds and opposition, have taken over an illegal dumping site to create a space where their children can bring their children and everyone can play safely. The community leaders and councillors in Soweto who have set up waste reclamation schemes. The numerous groups of volunteers along the entire length of the Spruit who turn out week after week to clean and clean the banks that will always be full of litter when they return. The teams in Yeovil working with Water for the Future to clear invasive vegetation, remove polluting waste and, on occasion, even a body from the Jukskei River. I could go on; the list is long, but that would be to ignore 1000s of other initiatives. The walking women who recognise their privilege and by paying a small amount per walk have raised over R55,000 to pay for the refurbishment of wheelchairs for children who have cerebral palsy. An action that changes not one life but the lives of a family and, with that, the entire community. The dedicated environmentalists who protest against the domination of fossil fuels and by doing so risk their own future for our future. The woman who weeds every centimetre of Melville Koppies to maintain its unique biodiversity.
Yes, our government is dysfunctional, but clearly, a large amount of us are not. We can do what political leaders obsessed with power and personal gain never will. We can take control and turn the tide in our direction. On September 16, World Cleanup Day, 2,000 volunteers across the entire city, from Soweto in the south to Diepsloot in the north and from Alberts Farm in the west to Bruma Park in the east (including Leeukwop prison), will pull on their gloves and clear the detritus every one of us has had a hand in producing. One more ripple in the pond that could/should become a tsunami.
