Atlas Spruit gets facelift

The founder of the Boksburg Community Project hopes to roll out mass clean-ups across the city.

July 28, 2023

Jani de Beer 2 minutes read

Colour-coded and looking stylish, Valencia Lopes (three), was eager to help.

Braving the cold, members of the Atlasville community heeded the call of the newly established Boksburg Community Project to clean, rejuvenate and revive Atlas Spruit on July 22.

Armed with paint and black bags, adults, families and friends got down to the task at hand, hoping to drive the community clean-up project in their suburb and see it rolled out to other areas in future.

After walking around the spruit last month, Boksburg Community Project founder Helen Kruger was overwhelmed by the lack of maintenance in the surrounding park.

“Having heard how communities across the country, as well as in neighbouring Benoni, have banded together to make a tangible difference to the environment and public spaces, I was inspired to follow in their well-established footsteps, starting with the spruit,” said Kruger.

“We hosted our first community clean-up on June 25 and were surprised by the handful of individuals who turned up and enthusiastically assisted.”

With Mandela Day, Kruger again encouraged another clean-up, with attention to repainting the play equipment and bridge railing and clearing the paths of overgrowth.

Bryon (front) and Alf Wallis painted the railings of one of the many bridges that cross the spruit.

Adding a lick of paint to the children’s play area was Gift Boloka of Alaska Spur, Atlas Mall.

And then there was more painting to be done. Chris Mitingo hopped on the task.

Enjoying a leisurely walk was Elrine Grobler (eight).

Lending a helping hand are members of AfriForum Boksburg. Seen here (from, left): Frankie Pedreiro, Quitin Jacobs (chairperson), Dillen Mans, Mardi Henning and Oudia Jacobs.

Getting down and dirty was Tracy Boggis.

Logan Erasmus (eight) jumped for joy at seeing his favourite park being cleaned.

Staying true to their motto of keeping the world clean were Stacey and Chloe Dormehl (nine).

Alaska Spur at Atlas Mall treated the little helpers to a goodie bag as a token of their appreciation for their willingness to assist with the clean-up.

“We got a tremendous response from the community and local businesses. Some volunteered their time, while others made financial contributions for supplies.

“AfriForum Boksburg also committed to jumping onto the paths and ridding them of grass and other obstacles.”
Watching as the learners of Mindpro Academy rushed around to see who could collect the most litter, Madelein Venter, the school principal, said the learners were encouraged to join the initiative.

“We believe that to grow into caring adults, we need to give our children the opportunity to participate in projects like these,” said Venter.

“By being part of this, they got to play, interact and look proudly at the difference they made by just lending a hand. We are committed to not only shaping the leaders of the future but also leaving a legacy of change.”

Clearing the pathways, the AfriForum Boksburg chairperson, Quintin Jacobs, said sitting on the sidelines would not contribute to creating an environment beneficial to the community.

“We are unsatisfied with the level of service delivery rendered by the Ekurhuleni metro. However, we can choose to echo the complaints or join in and be part of the difference,” said Jacobs.

“We are here to assist communities raring to make things work better for all.”

Kruger thanked every individual and business that supported the initiative and hoped future projects would begin in other parts of the city.

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