WATCH: Large turnout cleans up 1922 memorial
Community members and several organisations cleaned the 1922 Miners’ Revolt Memorial in Brakpan.
Multiple organisations and community members, with initial counts of almost 200, came together at the 1922 Miners’ Revolt Memorial in Brakpan, on November 15.
They cut the overgrown weeds and grass and repaired some damage that former Plastic City had caused. Among those who assisted were Ward 97 Clr Brandon Pretorius, PR Clr Riaan van Zyl, Marius ‘Vlam’ van der Merwe and Pieter ‘Bulldog’ Vorster, a slap fighter and two-time world champion in strict arm curl and freestanding curl weightlifting.
Clean Brakpan, AfriForum Brakpan, the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge (FAK), the Altitude Angels, Sunny’s Pet Outreach Team, Easyglass, the Brakpan CPF and Twin-A Electrical were also involved.
The FAK is working on obtaining the necessary permits to restore the graves and monument, while Van der Merwe will replace the looted concrete fence around the memorial.
The grass was cut, rubbish was collected, and, after much effort, a toppled bench was righted and replaced on its legs.
Photo: Charma du Plessis
It was suggested that the bench had been used for warmth, as a fire was lit on the upended bench while a person slept on the other side to keep warm.
Among the many community members was a blind teen who, afraid of Plastic City due to living close enough to hear the gunshots and not knowing when a stray bullet might hit him, faced his fear to find out for himself if the settlement residents were really gone and help with the clean-up.
“This turnout is amazing. We expected only a few people to show up but we’ve counted almost 200. Lisa Jordaan from Clean Brakpan was also surprised by the turnout,” said Drummond Doig, the vice-chairperson of Afriforum Brakpan.
“If only we could get so many people to show up for our projects,” she said light-heartedly.
Some community volunteers turned the clean-up into a family affair, bringing children and grandchildren to help.
One grandmother brought disposable masks, her two grandsons and an infant granddaughter to assist.
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