In honour of Heritage Day, Aunty B’s soup kitchen in Lotus River, which is operated by Beryl Williams, joined forces with The Lions Club of Tokai to do a clean-up of Phumlani on Saturday.
The initiative is known as Bag a Burger Environment Project and saw about 60 children take to the streets of the informal settlement with black dirt bags and gloves.
Community worker Beryl, 57, says she never realised that the rubbish was such a health hazard.
“I decided to give them some porridge and a hotdog for breakfast, which was sponsored by Pick n Pay, so I am thankful that they were able to come on board and feed the kids. We cleaned the streets and the kids were very excited. It was the first time they were part of something like that in Phumlani,” she said.
“It was a fruitful day, we were joined by a few adults as well. Our children were taught the importance of living in a clean environment because litter brings rats, causes dumping sites, sickness, foul smells and there are small children living in the area.”
She adds that at the end of the clean-up, they had about 70 black bags full of refuse, which a council truck was on site ready to collect.
For lunch, the little ones got a burger, juice and fruit.
Mark Rossouw, media and marketing chairperson for The Lions Club, says the project coincided with the Lions Internationals Environment Service Pillar.
“The project encompassed a clean-up of the streets of the Phumlani informal settlement in Lotus River,” he added.
“The Lions Club of Tokai members and 55 children from the informal settlement took to the streets of Phumlani in an effort to clean up the streets and to teach the children about the importance of keeping their environment clean.”
marsha.dean@inl.co.za