Several projects will be undertaken by Overstrand Municipality in collaboration with ward committees and community organisations during the next few days to celebrate Nelson Mandela Day on Thursday, 18 July 2013.

This day was instituted by the United Nations as an opportunity for humanitarian action and the idea is that everyone should spend at least 67 minutes – one minute for each year of his life Madiba devoted to the promotion of social justice, equality and the protection of human rights – to do something good for the community.

This year’s event will take place under the theme, “Take action; inspire change; make every day a Mandela Day”, and will focus on food security, shelter and literacy, but is not limited to that.

Among the planned activities in Overstrand Municipality are:

• Mayor Nicolette Botha-Guthrie will visit Ms Lea Goodall, a resident of Hawston who suffers from the rare Elephantitus disease, after which she will briefly visit as many as possible Mandela Day projects in the Overstrand area. Earlier this month she visited a 95 year old Zwelihle resident who shares the former President’s exact day of birth. The Mayor involved herself in blanket donation activities around Zwelihle and is also going to donate jerseys to the needy children of Mt Pleasant.  

• In the Gansbaai area (Wards 1and 2) there will be a lot of action with the cutting down of a large fig tree in the rear court yard of the Herberg-aan-See Old Age home and the removal of the cuttings to the municipal dump. Cllrs Nomaxesibe Nqinata and Linda Ndevu also requested homeowners to give special small hampers to Municipal staff responsible for the collection of household rubbish in their area. In the previously disadvantaged areas of Beverly Hills (Blompark), Masakhane and the RDP Housing area of Gansbaai, the Municipality in co-operation with the Gansbaai Ratepayers' Association will assist residents to clean up their yards.

• In Stanford (the other portion of Ward 11) residents and municipal employees will join forces to clean the town’s main road, Victoria Street, between 12:00 and 13:00. New play park equipment will be installed at the popular Ou Krale recreational area.
• There will also be an opportunity for the residents of the Skema, Thembelihle and Blomtuin to get rid of all unwanted items at their homes. The municipal waste removal team will collect all unwanted litter, like old matresses, car engines, etc.

• In Ward 3 clean-up projects will be undertaken at various places, including Hoy's Koppie and the Cliff Path - time to be confirmed.

• The Ward 4 (Westcliff/Mount Pleasant) project will entail planting of shrubs and flowers in Tulip Park in Mt Pleasant to create a Madiba garden. Residents from Westcliff and Hemel-en-Aarde are invited to participate in the activities. Botriver Bricks donated half bricks that will be used to create a garden path through the park.

• Wards 5, 6 and 12 will concentrate on the cleaning of play parks in Zwelihle for the benefit and security of the children in the area. Parks that will receive attention are those in Zondani Street and at the corner of Peach House and Tsepe Tsepe. Junior town councillors will join forces with Cllrs Mzameni Mshenxishwa, Michelle Sapepa and Vuyani Macotha to assist.

• In Ward 7 Cllr Ben Solomon and residents will clean the Sandbaai coastal path. They will meet at 13h00 on 18 July at the parking area in front of the toilets on the beach.

• In Ward 8 Cllrs Rudolph Smith and Mercia Andrews are organising volunteers from the community to clean up the Hawston Harbour on Wednesday, 18 July.

• Ward 9 (Kleinmond) will join the Mtimkhulu Village in its effort to bake 2013 cupcakes, which will be enjoyed by the children of the community as part of a big day of fun. All organisations, churches, youth and women's groups, schools and crèches are invited to join in. Cupcakes can be baked at home or in Mthimkulu’s kitchen. Phone Debbie Hull at 028 271 5213.

• In Ward 10 Cllr Lisel Krige will visit elderly residents of Proteadorp at their homes. Play park equipment will be installed in the Overhills community.

• Ward 11: With the assistance and support of the Pearly Beach Ratepayers' Association, residents of Eluxolweni and Pearly Beach will be assisted to get rid of all unwanted items at their homes and in their yards.

• In Ward 13 residents are encouraged to take part in a street cleaning project in Onrus and Vermont.  Black bags can be dumped at the Handelspos Mini Transfer Station. For more information contact Karin de Bruin at 084 305 2086.  

Fanie Krige