Kovsies students roll up their sleeves and repair 20 potholes in front of residences

AfriForum Youth’s Kovsies branch has joined forces with the civil rights organisation’s Bloemfontein branch to repair a total of 20 potholes on Groenewoud Street. This street is an important access route for the students of Amelia Ladies’ Residence and Veritas Men’s Residence, which is why students residing in these residences helped with the repairs this past Friday.

The project was made possible by a generous donation from the construction company Raubex, which made nine tons of tar available. Raubex also sent a team of ten workers, along with the necessary machinery and expertise, to lead the repairs. The total value of this donation amounts to more than R13 000.

Heinard Stroebel, Primarius of Veritas Men’s Residence, says it was great to see how the students turned up in their masses to work together on this project. “Waiting for the Municipality was not going to work, so we had to roll up our sleeves and get the job done ourselves,” he says.

“The cooperation and enthusiasm with which both the ladies and men turned up was truly inspiring. It is a privilege to be part of the solution and that AfriForum Youth and Raubex came up with the initiative to tackle this problem,” says Yana Scheffer, Primaria of Amelia Women’s Residence.

According to Christo Groenewald, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for Bloemfontein, this project serves as proof of the impact that collaboration between the community, students and the private sector can make.

“This project is an excellent example of what can be achieved when people come together to improve their community. Without Raubex’s generous donation of materials, their team and equipment, as well as the enthusiastic involvement of the students, this intervention simply would not have been possible. We are sincerely grateful to every person and organisation that contributed,” says Groenewald.

Collaboration between communities, organisations and the private sector remains essential to provide practical solutions to local challenges and to achieve sustainable improvements in towns and cities across South Africa.