Vuka Spark expands with Vuka Yards project empowering youth change across Brixton, Auckland Park and Melville
From dumping grounds to pride-filled streets — these young locals are leading the clean-ups.
What began as a small youth-led initiative in Auckland Park is fast growing into a neighbourhood movement. Vuka Yards, the flagship project of Vuka Spark Empowerment, is bringing fresh energy and purpose to communities across Brixton, Auckland Park and Melville — or as the team proudly calls it: BAM.
Launched on September 1, Vuka Yards blends hands-on work with community renewal. The 12-month pilot project, based in Auckland Park, is driven by a core team of five young participants working alongside partners including the Youth Employment Service (YES), People Solutions, Inala, and CityWise. Together, they’re proving how national youth initiatives, accredited training and local collaboration can come together to create real, lasting impact.
Read more: Community takes action to clean up illegal dumping in Sophiatown
According to Gizelle Hutchinson, chief operating officer of Vuka Spark Empowerment, the project was designed to reach the young people who are too often overlooked by traditional employment pathways. “Most young people who can’t find work aren’t graduates,” she said. “There’s a huge gap — a lot of programmes only cater to graduates. We wanted to reach the other 90% of youth in South Africa who don’t have access to opportunities. There were no educational barriers in place.”
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That inclusive approach is already transforming local streets. The team’s recent efforts on 7th Street in Melville and in Brixton have turned neglected, refuse-filled spaces into areas of pride and beauty. “They’ve done something beautiful there,” Hutchinson said. “From November 6-7 in Brixton, the team spent two days cleaning up a street that had been used for dumping garden and construction waste. Reclaimers had even been burning materials for scrap metal. The team went in, rolled up their sleeves, and made it shine again. People walking past stopped to thank them.”
Vuka Spark and its partners are building on the early groundwork first established in Melville with the support of Creass Community Services, proving that continuity, trust and collaboration are key to meaningful transformation.
With a new Vuka Yards HQ now open in Auckland Park, and strong ties linking the Brixton–Auckland Park–Melville corridor, the project is demonstrating what happens when youth, community and purpose align.
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