Residents, volunteers and different stakeholders gathered at Norwood and Orange Grove parks through a Mandela Day event where they dedicated their 67 minutes to clean up the two parks, restoring public spaces on July 16.

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The clean-up also included children of all ages, teaching them to clean up after themselves from a young age.

Norwood SAPS Community in Blue’s Jacqueline van der Westhuizen said that they dedicated their 67 minutes to giving back to the community through cleaning up the parks.

One of the stakeholders and founder of Spiritual Chords Safeyyah Moosa, said that her non-profit organisation had been cleaning up Norwood for the past four years and that participating in this clean-up means a lot because her organisation believes in restoring dignity to both people and their surroundings.

“When the environment is marginalised, when it’s left derelict, when it’s littered, when it’s filthy, we want to take care of that too. It’s not only about human beings, but it’s about all spaces in South Africa as well, which we clean up,” she said.

Volunteer Zanele Malinga said taking part in the clean-up was her way of honouring Nelson Mandela.
“We’re just doing it for the community, to keep our parks clean. It’s my first time doing the 67 minutes for Mandela to appreciate him,” she said.

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She added that Mandela’s fight for freedom has motivated her to keep serving her community.

Another volunteer, Kefilwe Thipe, said she participated because she loves her community. She mentioned that Madiba’s legacy reminds people to lend a helping hand and work together in efforts to create better communities.

After the clean-up, everyone headed to the recreation centre at Paterson Park, where they had a bite to eat and ended the day delighted, having completed their 67 minutes in honour of Mandela.

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