Africa-Press – South-Africa. Tired of seeing their Ekurhuleni suburb deteriorate, a group of residents decided to do something about it instead of just folding their arms and complaining.
Handlebars of Hope (HOH), a charity organisation that mother-and-daughter team, Vera and Mary Martin, established along with a friend and colleague, Wayne Lamprecht, in 2021, decided to cut the long grass in public spaces in Boksburg in January, which had been left unattended for too long.
It was the organisation’s first job in 2023.
The three cycling enthusiasts formed HOH as a clean-up project to uplift public spaces and restore pride in communities.
HOH employs one person daily and provides the person with safety gear and garden equipment to clean up selected parks and open spaces.
“Not only has our beautiful town deteriorated with public spaces not being adequately maintained, impacting quality of life, but the long grass also affords criminals hiding places and poses a safety hazard to communities,” Mary said.
The organisation’s name was inspired by the group’s love of cycling.
As a group, they cycle and invite people who want to cycle. The initiatives of HOH are extensions of the group.
All three of them are full-time property managers and focus on initiatives outside of their jobs.
According to Mary, the charity organisation employs destitute community members to work on projects.
She said they put up their own funds for the organisation.
“We each put aside R5 000 per month, which brings it to a total of R15 000. It’s not much to split between paying wages and buying equipment, but it’s something,” she said.
Cutting the grass, she added, was important.
“The grass was acting as a safety hazard for our community. It was no longer safe for people going to work who pass by the big patch of grass.”
She also said they were open to working with the municipality and that “it would be fantastic to join forces”.
City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said: “There’s been a delay with the grass-cutting tender appointed late last year.”
He added that the municipality started cutting the grass in cemeteries and that workers would cut the grass in open spaces soon. Mary said she was hopeful and positive that there would be more initiatives to help better the community and create more employment opportunities.
She added: “The people among us are hungry. It’s our responsibility to do better by offering employment where we can. The world needs more kindness, and it’s not always the municipality’s responsibility to do good for the community.
The organisation is accepting donations.
“The more we get, the more we give, and we are able to employ more people.”
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