Last week Wednesday, the Maruleng Ward 1 Committee, under the leadership of Christine Calitz du Preez, decided to engage with the community of squatters at the bus station next to the railway.

Hlokomela, generously availed 200 mosquito nets to be handed out. Persons residing there were encouraged to fill a refuse bag in exchange for a mozzie net.

The bulk of the waste was bagged in a jiffy, with two bakkie loads already removed. On Thursday, the rest of the filled bags will be removed too.

Unfortunately the contents of the bags are questionable and will not be recycled as it may pose a health risk, but it will be disposed of legally.

The site may not be cleaned entirely and might be full of rubbish soon here after, but for now it’s looking a lot better.

You may ask what is becoming of our town, and bring up the subject of paying rates and taxes etc, but at the end of the day the fate of our town lies with it’s residents.

Join us with the next town cleanup initiative and or GET INVOLVED with other community organisations and initiatives.

We have amazing local institutions like Town Watch or the Hoedspruit Chamber of Commerce that support and enable the residents who are willing to walk the talk.

Merely liking a post is not enough… it’s not genuinely getting involved. We may not have all the answers but at least we try. Start where we are with what we have!

BE THE DIFFERENCE.