A 16-year-old Nelson Mandela Bay young leader has been hailed as a local hero after she initiated a clean-up campaign to improve the environment of where thousands of KwaNobuhle residents reside.
Khazimla Adam, a Grade 11 pupil at Woodridge College in Thornhill, engaged with NMBM Public Health Mayoral Committee Member, Cllr Thsonono Buyeye last week seeking intervention into the plight of Stephen Nkomo Primary School pupils who have been negatively affected by the pollution that has been caused by waste piling up next to their school.
As a member of the environmental committee in the NMB Junior City Council, “Councillor” Khazimla said she could not resist the unpleasant scene where waste had piled up by the school fence and blocked half of the street.
“I was shocked to see waste piling up next to a primary school and I knew I had to do something. I sent an email addressed to the Mayor and his council and MMC Buyeye responded positively on how the Municipality would support my call. I engaged the school principal, Ward 46 Councillor and School Governing Body but most importantly we had a meeting with community members to educate them and inform them of the work that would be done today.”
“I am particularly happy about the Municipality’s prompt response to my request, everything was planned from last week and today the programme is a success thanks to the team work of everyone involved including the pupils. Following the clean-up we really hope that residents from this area can listen to children when they say ‘no to illegal dumping’. Schools are facilities we should be proud of, they are the cornerstone of our communities, for it to be full of rubbish is not acceptable. My message to all communities is for us to adopt the reduce, reuse and recycle lifestyle so we can live in healthy and conducive communities,” said Khazimla.
MMC Buyeye commended Khazimla for her initiative adding that collaborations are what the Metro has been calling for as the battle against illegal dumping could not be won by NMBM alone.
“What we are seeing here today is what we encourage all residents to do, to play their part and take initiative. As NMBM we need the community to work with us in fighting this crisis. We are proud of Khazimla as a junior councillor in NMBM and we call on residents to hear the plight of our children and stop illegal dumping. This problem of people dumping waste next to schools, churches, clinics makes the crime even worse, this is a plea from the future leaders and we decided to support the programme as Khazimla already organized her peers to clean up this area. When we leave here residents must own up the space, as the Metro we will continue to service them for waste collection weekly as per the schedule so they must refrain from illegal dumping,” Buyeye said.
Stephen Nkomo Primary School teacher Siyabonga Nyatela said it was a relief to finally have the space cleaned up as the waste posed danger to the pupils.
“This problem has been here for years now. People just come here to dump all sorts of things and the stink is unbearable on some days. Our pupils were in danger as there was only one lane on the road used by motorists and they share that with the pupils as the other half was blocked by waste and overgrown grass. We are happy to see work being done today and we really hope people do not dump again following the clean-up,” said Nyatela.
NMB Communications
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