Members of Ukwindla organisation celebrated the Youth Day on Monday 16 June in style after conducting a cleaning campaign at Zweledinga informal settlement in Makhaza.
Ukwindla is a non-profit organisation (NPO) that has various programmes to empower young people.
These are through skills development, health and nutrition and other aspects of growth and advancement, according to the organisation’s founder, Mpumelelo Gwe.
He said it is in this context that the campaign on the importance of preserving the environment exists.
“For this we were funded by the City’s Department of Water and Sanitation, which gave us R150 000.
“We took R130 000 of it and bought working equipment, including plastic bags, gloves, rakes and so on,” he explained.
He said at least 110 people registered for the initiative, a number that increased when others joined as the campaign gained momentum.
The campaign focused illegal dumping sites and shipping containers used for dumping.
Resident Amanda Mamba described the initiative as educational. She urged the community to refrain from discarding rubbish in public spaces.
“People must learn to use plastic bags to put rubbish in instead of throwing it in the drain or public spaces,” she said. “We need to protect our environment and keep it safe.”
According to Mamba, some of the items collected included plastic bags, cans and boxes.
