If we can behave honourably, we will rid the town of all filth and maintain Vrede honourable. In October of 2023, a group of women made a decision to clean their town. Mrs. Carla Van Rooyen went to visited Oranjeville, where the women were cleaning their town that was smaller than Vrede. We had a strong desire to clean up our town, but we needed money. So, we formed a group and had a conversation. One of the groups elderly members informed us about LottoLand, which airs on Channel 144, and how tiny towns can use money to fund one or two projects in their communities. That’s how it all began. We applied for LottoLand around November last year and produced a proposal specifically for the landfall.
The proposal has an appropriated budget. We receive confirmation that they received our application, and in December they called Mrs. Carla Van Rooyen, they wanted to see a group and check if we meet the requirements to be considered for funding, so they came to Vrede on February 15. LottoLands maximum payout is R500 000. As the voyage gained popularity, we organized all company owners and garden associations to get together and discuss plans.
We merely needed voluntary assistance, even though land quotation was above for R500 000. The moment we get green light from Lotto Land there was improvement but there was still lot of work to do, community was hands on, however, there was lot of labour involved and there was a lot of manual mechanical labour. We had several meetings with Phumelela Municipality, and without their labour and involvement we would not be where we are today, on their final visit on the 13th April LottoLand was extremely happy with the result, they never thought we will be able to finish our land project, we completed the land project with community assistance and the help of Phumelela Municipality, but there is still more work to be done to turn the town and township where they used to be. We have a plan collaborating and preparing with Phumelela municipality, management Forum, and the community. Together we were able to address our environment problems.
Thembalihle community is very delighted, they are posting comments on social media and appreciating how nice and clean their town their town looks. They also encourage each other to keep their town clean.
What do you think about the above? Please share your opinions in the section below.
By: Sanele Makubo