Delmas Residents Are Reviving Their ‘Dorp’

The South African Government may be depriving some towns of the efficient municipal services they deserve, but despite potholes popping up across the nation, they can’t dent SA citizens’ sense of pride and community.

There’s a growing initiative in South Africa for the residents of some towns to rally together and fix their own town. They’re no longer waiting for the government to do the right, and expected, thing. Nor – like in the case of the Senekal clean-up – are they allowing politicians to divide them. These townsfolk are gathering – from different cultures and age groups – to work together to make their towns beautiful.

The latest town to post photos of its clean-up is Delmas in Mpumalanga.

Local resident William Harvey posted several photos to Delmas groups on Facebook this weekend, showing the fantastic progress the local community has achieved.

William told SAPeople that the work began about four or five months ago. He said the group is known as Delmas Herleef (Revive Delmas). William says they are focussed on making their town beautiful – by cleaning the curbs, picking up paper and fixing potholes – so that when people drive into Delmas they’ll say ‘Delmas is beautiful’. (“Ons wil ons dorp mooi maak soos randstene werf, potholes reg maak, papiere optel sodat as mense deur die dorp ry se hel Delmas is mooi.”)

The wonderful thing about these initiatives is that we’re not just seeing beautiful towns, but also beautiful residents who care about their home and each other!