Just five days after formalising their partnership in Sandton on September 8, Guardian Angel Wildlife and Marine Trust (GAWMT) and the Tondani Lushaka Forum led a street-by-street clean-up campaign in Alexandra’s Ward 75 on September 13.

The initiative marked the first joint operation between the two organisations, though both have deep roots in the community.

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The Tondani Lushaka Forum’s work in Alexandra stretches back more than two decades, while GAWMT founder Honorary Colonel Raymond Kramer’s ties to the area date back over 40 years, beginning with his early involvement with a local taxi association.

Saturday’s clean-up brought together GAWMT’s young Scouts and members of the Mawusa Movement Party, led by Tondani Lushaka Forum’s Robert Nwedo, as the groups moved through the township collecting litter under the banner of ‘Keep Kasi Clean’.

Scout discipline put to work.

For the Scouts, many of whom have been receiving discipline-focused mentorship, the event offered a hands-on opportunity to apply what they had learned. “We are moulding them as young as they are. They are being taught discipline,” GAWMT Alexandra coordinator Mandla Khumalo said.

He echoed Kramer’s long-standing view that such habits are best instilled early, in the hope that the Scouts grow into responsible young adults who will carry the ‘Keep Kasi Clean’ message forward.

Khumalo said the campaign is about more than picking up rubbish. “Next event, there will be another section in Alexandra, where we must clean Alexandra and teach the people in the community to keep it clean so that their environment will be clean,” he said.

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The initiative, for GAWMT, represents a more targeted, sustained intervention beyond the clean-ups residents have come to associate with the organisation’s annual Mandela Day events.

Sustainable community impact

Mawusa’s secretary, Cedric Chauke, framed the campaign in similarly holistic terms, linking a clean environment to community well-being. “For people to think better, they must [be] in a clean environment,” he said.

“A dirty environment is not conducive to kids playing around. It is not healthy even for adults. So, we want to clean our environment and also encourage residents of Alexandra to join us.”

Both organisations agree that community buy-in, not just the clean-ups themselves, will determine whether the effort has any lasting impact.

Chauke said the goal is to ensure residents take ownership of an area once it has been cleaned up, keeping it that way rather than allowing it to slide back. The organisations plan to run the campaign every weekend going forward.

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