Thousand Zandspruit learners benefit from A Re Sebetseng

30 January 2018

 

Gone are the days when children from Zandspruit’s Masakhane Primary School in Johannesburg would go to school wearing tekkies. 

 

A pioneering recycling project between Adcock Ingram, Netcare and the City of Johannesburg is helping hospitals deal with their safe healthcare waste in a way that creates functional new products, including school shoes for disadvantaged children.

The innovative project, in which used, non-hazardous intravenous infusion drip bags and tubing made of polyvinyl chloride are recycled into soles for school shoes.

This has resulted in about 1 000 school shoes handed over to learners of the Masakhane-Tswelopele Primary School in Zandspruit by City of Joburg Executive Mayor Cllr Herman Mashaba on Monday, 29 January 2018.

Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg Cllr Herman Mashaba, together with the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Health and Social Development, Dr Mpho Phalatse, said they were excited to see that the A Re Sebetseng programme not only called on residents to clean up the City, but also instils the spirit of Ubuntu and voluntarism in learners to take care of their environment.

Mayor Mashaba said: “I’m a strong believer of public-private partnership as government alone we cannot do everything. We have a responsibility to teach these children to love and keep clean their environment.”

“Please don’t teach these children to rely on government. Teach them to work hard and teach them to respect their teachers and community. Please teach these kids to take care of their environment and every time they see a piece of paper lying on the ground that they must take it and put it into the dustbin,” said Mayor Mashaba.

Adcock Ingram Managing Director Colin Sheen said: “This is an example of what can be achieved when the private and public sectors work together for the benefit of our environment and the upliftment of communities in need.”

“Netcare is delighted to be a part of this worthy initiative, which not only speaks to our commitment to reducing our environmental footprint but also to our spirit of investing in the communities where we operate. By participating in this project we are embracing a more sustainable approach to healthcare which, at the same time, is benefitting local school children,” said Richard Friedland, CEO of Netcare.

“This project is just the beginning of a partnership in which the three parties have come together to all play a part in reducing waste, pollution and landfill sites, ultimately benefitting all citizens, who can look forward to a cleaner, greener, and better city. We look forward to the meaningful difference this recycling initiative will make in the lives of individuals and communities as we expand it in the coming years,” added Friedland.

A Re Sebetseng, the mayoral project that has seen Joburg residents clean-up their local spaces has leaped from strength to strength. The programme reached new heights by expanding to schools. The schools programme aims to encourage and teach learners in the City of Johannesburg to take care of the environment and also seeks to promote a culture of reducing, re-using and recycling waste to ensure Joburg becomes one of the cleanest cities in Africa.

“What is exciting is that A Re Sebetseng is expanding and more partners are joining the campaign to give back to our communities through various programmes. I am excited that next month we will officially be launching the A Re Sebetseng schools programme,” said MMC Phalatse.

Anna Lebethe, Principal of Makhane Primary School said, “The donation of school shoes came at the right, when parents had spent money for stationery and school uniforms. I’m feeling very excited about the donation of shoes to the kids.”