IT’S KHULA TO CLEAN UP TOGETHER
The It’s Khula to Clean Up team of the aQuellé brand joined the Mossel Bay Municipality
late last year to demonstrate their commitment to creating a healthy and
sustainable community. Hopefully, they will also come and help the Great Brak team this year.
Nombuyiselo Majola, the manager of refuse removal, collections and waste disposal facilities
of the municipality said, “Community clean-up campaigns make a difference. Although small, these actions significantly impact the environment and demonstrate the power of working together. Through these campaigns, we can change the mindset of our people and fight illegal dumping. Mossel Bay Municipality and the community and stakeholders, supported by the aQuelle team, joined hands in a War On Waste clean-up campaign. Participating in this clean-up campaign will build environmental stewardship and teach community members the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling to decrease the amount of waste we produce that ends up at the landfill site. They will also learn that environmental litter can impact air, water, soil, and wildlife.”
So far, the It’s Khula to Clean Up team has executed more than 60 clean-ups nationwide in collaboration with municipalities and communities. “We have been on a wonderful journey and are thankful to everyone who has assisted,” says Gladson Songelwa of aQuellé. “Working with local communities to create a happier, healthier space is a privilege.”
The team, supported by community members and other stakeholders, recently picked up litter at an illegal hotspot dumpsite in Asla Park. It is situated on Nkosana Mbangi Street in Mossel Bay. The dump site is located behind a crèche. Now that the dumpsite has been cleaned, it will be appropriately prepared to establish a vegetable garden to provide fresh vegetables to the children at the crèche. This pilot project is hoped to be duplicated in other areas in Mossel Bay.
aQuellé has worked with Emseni farming to establish vegetable gardens in KwaZulu-Natal schools and has had great success. Dietmar Joosten, farm manager of Emseni, has implemented the school vegetable garden project and said he hopes it will motivate them to venture into agriculture and grow gardens in their homes. This is an initiative that Mossel Bay can learn from and implement to benefit its communities with the help of different stakeholders and if communities take ownership thereof. Food scarcity is a real challenge, and school vegetable gardens are one way to ensure our children do not start a hungry school day.
If you want to know more about the It’s Khula to clean up campaign, visit www.aquelle.co.za or email mail@aquelle.co.za
