The kids of Masakhane in Gansbaai, have been hard at work, cleaning up their streets and recycling all the recyclables they’ve collected. And what a fun year it has been at the Recycle Swop Shop!

An astonishing 14 940 kg of recyclables were collected by 6054 kids throughout 2014.

The kids range between the ages of 4 – 15 and they use whatever means they can to deliver the recyclables to the collection point at the Recycle Swop Shop. They carry it in anything from plastic bags and crates to wheelbarrows. Some of them even line up twice because they can’t carry it all in one go. They are allocated a certain amount of points, depending on what kind and the quantity of the recyclables they’ve handed in. Theses points can then be “spent” in the Recycle Swop Shop. The shop is stocked with school stationary and supplies, second hand clothing, basic needs goods such as soap, toilette paper and blankets, and a little bit of fun stuff too, like bling for their hair and small toys.

White Shark Projects has an open line of communication with the schools in Masakhane to ensure that the Swop Shop is stocked with the school supplies the children may need. Most of the stock in the shop is bought and supplied by White Shark Projects. The rest of the stock comes from donations from all over the world. White Shark Projects hosts a volunteer programme and the volunteers hail mostly from Europe and the USA. Every Tuesday, the volunteers help out at the Recycle Swop Shop and get to meet and interact with the children. When they return home, they send packages filled with clothes and goodies, much to the delight of the children back in Masakhane. White Shark Projects would like to thank all the volunteers who assisted during 2014 and would also like to extend a great big thank to all those who’ve donated so generously.

The Recycle Swop Shop also received numerous visits during 2014; most memorable was a visit from RSG (Radio Sonder Grense) and a delegation from the Lonmin Group. The Lonmin delegation came to visit to see how they could launch a similar set-up on their platinum mine in the North West Province.

The biggest thank you of all goes to Nellie Moolman who runs the Recycle Swop Shop; please contact her on 072 824 9902 if you would like to make a donation. And to the kids of Masakhane, who diligently and excitedly collected recyclables every week, well done and thank you too!

Inge Altona - de Klerk

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