Kempton Park church leads community clean-up campaign
Church of Pentecost Kempton Park cleans the street of Kempton Park.
The Church of Pentecost Kempton Park joined forces with community members to tackle litter and improve the cleanliness of the area during a clean-up campaign on October 17.
The initiative followed the church’s identification of an unclean environment as one of the challenges affecting the community.
The clean-up covered several areas, including the Kempton Park CBD, Kempton Road, Northrand Road, Maxwell Road, Greyilla Avenue and Cuaserina Street.
ALSO READ: Kempton Park church supports Kaalfontein families through monthly feeding scheme
According to Sifiso Mkhize, the clean-up coordinator and a member of the church, 35 people participated in the campaign. These included 12 community members and 23 church members, with assistance from the municipality’s waste management team.
“During the clean-up campaign, we were able to raise awareness among some community members. We collected general waste, including paper plates, plastic bags and vegetable peels, and also removed silt from roadside gutters,” said Mkhize.
He said the response from the community had been encouraging, with several residents expressing interest in participating in future campaigns. Some local traders also made financial contributions towards the initiative.
Mkhize said the campaign took place on a particularly hot day, but the church had made preparations to ensure participants’ safety. These included providing cold drinking water, reminding participants to stay hydrated and having a first aider on standby.
Photo: Masego Mashilo
ALSO READ: Kempton Park church supports Kaalfontein families through monthly feeding scheme
He said the municipality’s Waste Management Department had also been a valuable partner, providing personal protective equipment (PPE), a truck and a team to assist with transporting the collected waste to the landfill site.
The church currently holds clean-up campaigns once a month, with its next initiative scheduled for November 14.
Mkhize encouraged residents, traders and organisations to take responsibility for keeping their surroundings clean and contributing to environmental sustainability.
“Every resident, trader and organisation has a role to play in ensuring environmental sustainability. Be involved; we are doing it for the next generation,” he said.
Community member Yonela Loqo said she had been invited to participate by a friend and was motivated by the opportunity to contribute positively to the area.
“I am involved in a lot of community work, and for this campaign, I was invited by a friend. It felt like it was a good cause because there are a lot of things happening around us that are mostly negative. Being part of people who are trying to bring positivity to the community was my biggest motivation,” said Loqo.
