When a few good people get together and commit to doing great things, magic happens.
This has been evidenced in many ways in different parts of Nelson Mandela Bay over the past few months.
Whether it is groups of residents clearing illegal dumpsites in the townships or fixing potholes in their areas, or a myriad of other initiatives, people are getting down and dirty and tackling the decay in the city head-on.
The latest example is the once family-friendly St George’s Park — which was neglected and allowed to sprout into a jungle, and was taken over by vagrants and others with criminal intent.
Facilities in and around the park have been plagued by vandalism and theft of copper cables, among other things, and several people have been mugged over the years either while walking around the outside of the park or strolling or sitting inside it.
In the most recent incident, in December, Swedish visitors to the city were reportedly held up at gunpoint in the park and robbed of their cellphones, cash and bank cards.
A review posted on Tripadvisor shortly afterwards said baldly: “Don’t go there! We were robbed with firearm during daytime. Though the park has some beautiful aspects, most parts are not in best shape, so all in all not recommended.”
Wow! That is not what we want to see posted about our iconic 160-year-old park.
So kudos to the residents who are determined to return St George’s Park to its former glory.
They are clearly not prepared to stand by and watch it deteriorate further.
It started with them simply trimming the overgrown bushes and has quickly grown into an initiative now also involving local businesses and the municipality.
“The plan is to revamp the assets that are already there, and to bring people back to the park,” the operations manager of the Friends of St George’s Park nonprofit, John Whitfield, said.
“We’ve allowed it to fall into the wrong hands, and now it is time to reclaim it and breathe new life into it.”
Initiatives such as this one are incredibly inspiring and tend to have a life of their own, motivating others to either clean up their own areas or join others already in progress.
Here’s hoping this mushrooms into similar projects by residents at other neglected public parks and facilities.
HeraldLIVE
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