LOCAL NEWS - Over the past 10 days, local neighbourhood watches across George, community members, councillors and businesses all pitched in to relieve the heavy load on the municipality and emergency services' plate as a massive clean-up operation got underway in George and Uniondale.
The entire community came together as one to clear areas resembling a war zone.
The CGH Neighbourhood Watch, under the leadership of chairperson Troy Lewis, conducted a huge operation together with the George Municipality and local businesses to clear up the storm debris in Camphersdrift, Glen Barrie and Heatherlands.
Residents collected debris and fallen tree branches from the suburbs and dropped it off at a central collection point in Plantation Road in Heatherlands.
The group worked non-stop to ensure some normality returned to the area, with many residents enduring prolonged power outages of more than a week.
Lewis thanked the George Municipality and ward councillor Erika Brown for the tremendous effort put in over the past two weeks.
Operation George South
George South was another hard-hit area where residents took hands with the authorities and their ward councillor to make the area liveable again.
George South residents praised councillor Sean Snyman - also the George Speaker - for organising a central dumping point in the suburb for the residents.
Houses and trees in Frieda Street in George South were particularly hard hit, but everyone worked together to clear the street and gardens. Photo: supplied
Dave Shear posted on Georgiete Staan Saam: "Well done to our municipal “speaker” Sean Snyman for this fantastic initiative. Having a central community “dumping” area for all the garden and tree cuttings is brilliant, time and fuel saving notwithstanding. Thanks to the guys chopping everything it’s a backbreaking job and really appreciated.
Thank you Sean, great job and let’s keep our town on the up and up and on the road to recovery."
Gwendolyn Minnie posted: "We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Sean for this outstanding initiative, which has made a significant difference in our community.
This effort has not only saved valuable time and reduced diesel costs, but has also improved safety for residents assisting with the removal of fallen trees and branches from yards and streets.
For individuals, particularly women working alone, making multiple trips to the George Dump to transport garden refuse and debris would have been both physically demanding and costly. This initiative has eased that burden considerably while ensuring a safer and more efficient process....
We are deeply grateful for the positive impact this has had on our neighbourhood and extend our heartfelt thanks to Sean and everyone involved in making this initiative a success.
Forever grateful."
Message to George South residents
Approached for comment, Snyman shared his open letter to George South residents with George Herald:
"Hi George South,
Due to certain residents raising concerns about the trees and branches that have been deposited in our area, I want to make sure you have the full picture.
A fire hazard evaluation has been done, and the Director of Community Development, who is responsible for Cleansing and Parks, has confirmed that there is no fire hazard at this stage. The situation is being watched closely and will be managed as things change on the ground.
I also just want to say thank you. Not in a formal, going-through-the-motions kind of way, but genuinely.
Since the tragedy struck George, so many of our residents stepped up to the plate, rolled up their sleeves and are helping turn this tragedy into a community building exercise rather than just being negative.
You have got stuck in, you have helped where you could, and you showed what this community is really made of. That means a great deal to not only me but I am sure those that you have helped during this time, and it does not go unnoticed.
Let us not give up, let us not be discouraged by any body and let us keep looking out for each other. We will get through this together.
As your ward councillor, I thank you all."
Margaret Botha (left) and Maureen Terblanche while clearance work took place at Botha's house. Photo: supplied
Over the ages many famous people have praised the merits of working together.
At the risk of being cheesy, George Herald shares a few of these great quotes:
- “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” - Henry Ford
- “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” - Helen Keller
- “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” - Mother Teresa
- “If you take out the team in teamwork, it’s just work. Now who wants that?” - Matthew Woodring Stover
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