Isup Hussain Larsahib is making a difference in his hometown.
Isup and his two grandsons have started filling up the potholes in Weenen.
Although he does not have a bakkie, he loaded the sand in the boot of his vehicle and set off on his mission.
Isup married at the age of 19 and has been married for 33 years. He is the father of two sons and one adopted daughter.
He was in Weenen for his primary school years and went to Drakensberg High, where he completed his schooling career and went back home, as that was where he felt he needed to be.
Isup’s younger grandson, Adam Larsahib, is just five years old and because the stones are too big for him to carry, he directs the traffic for his grandfather.
His other grandson, nine-year-old Mohamed Wasim, helps his grandfather to pack the potholes full of stones before the sand is put in to fill them up.
“We both really like helping our grandpa,” say the two boys.
When Isup was asked why he has taken this task upon himself, he says that the Thursday before he started this project, he was almost involved in an accident where a vehicle travelling in the oncoming lane swerved into his lane.
In the process of trying to avoid the other vehicle, he hit a pothole that burst a tyre and buckled the rim of the wheel.
“This was when I knew it was time for something to be done about the potholes, before they cause major accidents where people lose their lives,” said Isup.
The road where he almost had the accident was the first road he and his grandsons targeted, and filled 26 potholes in two streets.
These local heroes can be seen working on a Sunday, as Isup works from Monday to Friday at a local butchery and his grandsons attend school.
According to Isup, Saturdays are too busy and this leaves Sunday as the only day they can work. He says the community did not know who fixed the potholes and when they found out it was him, they all said he is truly doing something good for the town.
Isup now has more helping hands in the form of two friends, Shafique Mohamed and Vikash Sarjoo, who have offered to assist with bakkies.
When Isup is not busy ‘fixing’ his town, he enjoys fishing with his grandsons.
He and his grandson took part in a school athletics day in which they both brought home medals. Isup came first in the 100m sprint.
Filling up potholes is just one of Isup’s many projects, as he and other residents are going to start a neighbourhood watch to try and protect their community during the festive season.
“Go out and make a difference,” says Isup.
DID YOU KNOW?
Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics.
If you are reading this on your cellphone and there are telephone numbers provided in the text, you can call these simply by clicking on them.
To receive news links via WhatsApp.
At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
