From garbage to greenery, Kwazakhele youth transform illegal dumpsite

A group of Kwazakhele youth are hoping their efforts to remember June 16  last  much longer than one day.

Lunga Zokufa is among the youth in Ward 22 who decided to clean and convert an illegal rubbish dump into a garden as part of their celebration of youth day.

He said they had started cleaning the area in Mangcu Street last week but chose to continue and complete the work on June 16 due its significance in the fight of the youth. 

“As the youth of this area we decided to take back our community which has been polluted with garbage dumped illegally.

“Our area is surrounded by churches, schools and creches. We’ve noted that the filth in this area could affect the children who go to the schools here and community members,” he said.

Zokufa said the initiative also aimed to prevent further dumping and the food produced in the garden would be used to feed people in the community who are also “the guardians of the garden”.

“We hope this will inspire other youths from different areas. We can’t wait for everything to be done for us.”

Another participant, Xola Ntuli, said the youth came together to not only fight the illegal dumping but to fight drug abuse and crime.

“We are inspired by the youth of 1976 that took it upon themselves to fight the injustices of their time.

“We witness current injustices where the elderly are victims of crime by the youth.

“Yesterday, we had a community meeting, the issue was crime, there’s housebreakings so this initiative that we are doing here is to propel young people towards issues that affect them,” Ntuli said.

Kwazakhele resident Lizeka Gulwa, 53,  who has TB of the spine, said she was happy to witness the youth taking charge of their community.

In light of youth day, Nafcoc NMB Youth Chamber also encouraged the youth to take their place in society and ensure their voices and aspirations were heard and remained relevant.

In a statement,  the organisation said youth entrepreneurship must take centre stage in the new economy post-Covid-19.

“We strive to ensure our members have access to market opportunities, access to information, a conducive business environment and to lobby for the establishment of youth entrepreneurship hubs in the region.

“We invite young entrepreneurs and all relevant stakeholders involved in the SMME development arena from the public, private and non-profit sectors to join us as we commemorate the youth,  and in equipping young entrepreneurs with the requisite skills for a better  economy for all young entrepreneurs,” the statement read.