Withok resident and business owner donates radios for rural safety
The 10 radios will go a long way in increasing the safety and security in Withok.
Andre Marais, the owner of Village Garden Nursery in Withok, donated 10 portable radios to the Brakpan CPF’s rural safety division. The radios were handed over on February 13, before the monthly rural safety meeting.
“I just think that we are part of the community. I have a business in the community and with businesses often being more appealing targets for crime, we have a responsibility towards our community to deter crime in the area,” he said.
Andre was born on the plot on which the nursery is situated and is the third generation to live there. To him, the area has a lot of sentimental value and the people of the area are important to him.
“I want to encourage other businesses in town to get involved with these structures, no matter where they are, to make the town a safer place for everyone,” he explained.
He believes that even if people and businesses can’t patrol, they can contribute through the use of radios, by having security systems and by being active.
“The more activity there is in an area, the less likely criminals are to stick around. I know securing your property or business and getting involved in these community safety structures is expensive, but you should rather be proactive than regretful. Crime is more expensive than security,” he said.
Village Garden Nursery decided to make the donation and get involved because they believe you have to give back to the community as a business.
“If you don’t get involved in your community you don’t have a supportive community, it’s just good business practice,” Andre continued.
Joanne Greyling, the head of rural safety in Withok, is very grateful for the radios. “It’ll help a lot in the community with emergency response and fighting crime,” she said.
They plan to distribute the radios among the community to have the best coverage across the area. In Withok, people live far from each other and being able to immediately tell if something is wrong with a neighbour and getting help is difficult, but the radios can shorten that time drastically.
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