ARCHIVES: DM168 GOOD IN THE HOOD: In a big city like Johannesburg, it’s the small acts for the greater good that count
It was time for Mama Sisulu to have some flowers. That’s what Marina Walsh thought standing at the Sisulus sculpture in downtown Johannesburg, ready to give the public artwork she created 12 years ago a bit of a facelift and a clean-up.
But complaining and waiting for authorities to get their act together is reserved for those prepared to bang their heads on brick walls. That’s not Walsh, nor Sarah Barret, city tour guide at Joburg 360 who alerted Walsh to the weary state of the sculpture. As a creative entrepreneur, it pained him that many small businesses in the areas were looted and destroyed and still face enormous odds to rebuild.
“The eye represents our vision as a community, the unity we can have when we stand together and when we see each other,” he says. “It was like one day I suddenly noticed the deterioration and the litter so I started cleaning up the streets and pavements of Kensington. If you wait for the City to do it you’ll wait till you die,” she says.A homeless man, who saw her working, offered to help even though she could only pay him a small stipend at the time. Together they worked for about a year until others started noticing and urged her to set up Clean Village as a non-profit, calling for donations from other residents.
They’re also the people who keep tabs on broken water pipes, clogged-up stormwater drains, illegal dumping and other basic upkeep checklist items for standard suburban maintenance. And if Retallack has her way, she’s going to expand her hobby of mosaicking kerbside drains inlets throughout the neighbourhood.Doing good comes down to personal choice, says Kennedy Tembo.
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