Three men determined to make ends meet, cleared a dumping ground and planted flowers in the hopes of boosting their business.
Manenberg, South Africa (07 July 2020) – When picturing the men of Maneneberg in the Western Cape, planting flower gardens isn’t the first image that comes to mind. However, a group of men have been working to beautify the gang-ridden community by planting flowers.
Wayne Coetzee, Ashraf Meyer and Thaakir Armod are being praised for their efforts by the Manenberg community. It all started when Wayne needed a way to make money to support his family through the lockdown. He thought about selling wood but noticed that people were fearful of stopping. He looked at his surroundings and noticed that it looked messy and unsafe.
That was when he came up with the idea to clear a space that usually was covered in litter from peoples cars, and to plant flowers.
Wayne personally loves flowers so he knew that if people saw the area was clean and beautiful, they would probably stop and buy wood from him. Over the course of two weeks, mainly on the weekends, Wayne and his two reluctant but helpful friends cleared the area and started planting flowers.
The community jumped on board and donated cuttings from their gardens. They made a fence to protect the flowers and set up shop.
“I collect wood to sell so I can feed my laaities and I have always liked flowers so I decided, no man, come we clean up and make it mooi so the people won’t be scared to stop here and buy from us.” – Wayne Coetzee
The guys had no tools to complete their cleanup, so they borrowed from neighbours or just used their hands. Now the area is tidy; they are receiving praise for putting in such a great effort.
Everywhere you look, you will find a community member doing something for others. We love to hear stories like this!
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