Bring change to our city
Daryn Wood
AN EXCITING new movement is promoting unity among the citizens of Nelson Mandela Bay in order to transform the metropole, and it will only cost an hour of your time.
Through the Just1HR initiative, people are encouraged to donate an hour of their time each month to assist those in need.
Just1HR has identified domains such as education, health, family, business and sport to focus on.
Coordinator Trevor Jennings said the metro's needs would be tackled ward by ward.
He explains on the website that they "want to see the metropole transformed by addressing socio-economic injustices, seeing the crime rate come down, per capita income go up, most pupils graduating, city leaders conducting themselves in an unashamedly ethical manner, systemic poverty being significantly alleviated and our community presented as a united front".
"It [Just1HR] is based on the fact that people are so busy because we are living in an all-consuming society. There are people who don't get involved because they don't know how to get out of it, or they don't have the time," Jennings said.
Jennings calculated that if one million people in the Bay had to give one hour a month of voluntary service, it added up to 114 years per month. He said this demonstrates the power of unity and the difference that can be made if people work together.
The idea to start Just1HR came about last year in August after Bishop Lunga ka Siboto participated in a Herald Community Forum at the Feather Market Centre and urged the city to work together to rebuild the walls of the city. In September a group of church leaders were given a clear vision on how to tackle the rebuilding of the walls.
The wall was divided into 60 sections which represents the 60 municipal wards. Not only were the leaders given a clear vision on the 60 municipal ward approach but were given a plan of action on how to implement the vision.
"We have been focused on how to implement it. We are going to have a Just1HR challenge every month where everyone who has joined up will be invited. This is where we will link people, build relationships and plug in to making a difference," Jennings said.
He added that they were going to do things differently and think out of the box.
For more information and to join the movement, visit www.just1hr.org.za