Evander residents heed the call to help clean up Evander
The aim of Cleaner Evander group is to have a clean-up day at least twice a month to also reach other areas of the town.
EVANDER – The response to a question of who was willing to help clean up Evander, was much bigger than what Mr CJ Stuart had expected.
He recently posted this question on the Safer Evander Facebook page, because he just about had it with the filth in his hometown.
Mr Stuart (34) grew up in Evander and it pained him to see how the town had deteriorated over the years.
Police and the municipality recently swept through the town centre to remove the piles of rubbish, as well as drug dealers and squatters.
“It did not last long. Everything was back to its dirty self in no time,” said Mr Stuart.
He lives in the Old Mutual building in the CBD and all the open manholes, overflowing rubbish bins and the general messy state of the town drove him to the Facebook page.
“A young man was recently stabbed in a gang-related incident right in front of this building and there was blood everywhere, in the parking lot and even against the walls. I think this really opened my eyes to the mess around us.”
More than 70 volunteers have joined his group and more are coming on board daily.
These residents have collectively decided on a plan of action to clean up their neighbourhood, starting with a rubbish run from 10am to 2pm on 4 August.
Everyone will initially bring along their own gloves and black bags and as the initiative progresses, they hope to get more sponsors on their side.
The team will go into the CBD on 4 August to clean up.
“CNC Steel indicated that they would help us to close the open manholes, Seeff has offered to put out more trash bins and Smit Trucks will supply a vehicle for the removal of the load of trash collected,” said Mr Stuart.
Govan Mbeki Municipality has granted them the use of the open veld across the parking lot from Coney Island supermarket.
The Cleaner Evander group is planning a flea market and a festive atmosphere with various stands at R75 each on 4 August.
The money from this will go towards the funding of future clean-up actions.
Mr Stuart said the aim is to have a clean-up day at least twice a month to also reach other areas of the town.
