Working together yields results for Kensington

Get to know your neighbour, work together to fight crime and build relationships with the relevant departments to improve your suburb.

This is advice given to people regularly, but some wonder what difference it is going to make.

The Western Kensington Residents Association (WKRA) believes working in numbers can lead to the improvement of a suburb.

Created by an interested few in 2011, today a family member in almost each house in the area is kept updated about crime, grime and other problems.

“It has been a successful past couple of months for the WKRA. The WKRA has been successful in ensuring that community involvement increased. The BBM and WhatsApp groups created have seen more members of the WKRA community getting involved,” said Mr Navin Bachu, from the association.

The WKRA covers Benbow, Cambrian, Cressey, Norfolk, Argyle, Barossa, Blenheim, Kensington Lane and Collingwood.

There are a few residents from Arethusa and Boxer streets who are also involved.

“South Africans tend to hide behind their high walls and electric fences. In the WKRA, we have engaged with those residents on their smart phones through the chat groups and have empowered them to come out and fight grime and crime in the area.

“Some residents say they have been united with other residents through the chat groups. Residents are far more confident of the state of the area and many of them have pledged to continue the ‘heartbeat’ of fighting grime and crime on a daily basis.

“Many residents moved out of the area and amazingly, many great residents were attracted to the area and invested in property. These residents were contacted, welcomed and added to the chat groups,” said Mr Bachu.

The interest in making the area safer and cleaner has also led to some residents randomly patrolling the area and reporting problems to the relevant departments.

“The WKRA plans to continue with the random patrols and also plans to contract a security company to patrol the streets on a 24/7 basis,” said Mr Bachu.

There is now a level of trust among people on the groups as well.

Residents offer their services to each other and advise each other on who to contact if they require help with services such as painting and building.

Mr Bachu said people who have given up, or just do not want to get involved in the fight against crime and grime, should understand that crime affects everyone.

“Get to know your neighbour. Get to know what you can do to fight grime and crime and how you can work with the WKRA.

“You do not have to be a hero and tackle a burglar. You can call for help when you see a crime being perpetrated and also do your bit by calling the City of Johannesburg to log a request to fix a broken street light, missing manhole cover, the pruning of trees and so forth. You can also get involved in many of the projects of the WKRA to uplift the area,” said Mr Bachu.