This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is watw_blogfest_sidebar.jpg

It’s the last Friday of the month, the day on which bloggers from around the world post a story that seeks to uplift, showing humanity in action. Here in South Africa where we’re pretty alarmed at our dysfunctional government steeped in corruption, and in among the mess where municipalities are not serving their constituencies, it is heartening to see communities taking action and cleaning up their villages, towns and cities.

Kranshoek is about 10 kms from where I live. Jeanray is pictured here.

May be an image of 1 person, playing American football, outdoors and text that says ""Kranshoekis is beautiful community and want keep clean the health children who play outside ndthe people who live here. It's good for the community the impact that cleaning up can have." -Jeanray CHICAGO 36"

He now heads up the weekly clean-ups in Kranshoek. Jeanray has stepped up to try continue the work that Quinton Snyman started in the community. Quinton served the community in so many ways. Always on duty to help others first. Jeanray says: “Kranshoek is a beautiful community and I want to keep it clean for the health of the children who play outside and the people who live here.It’s good for the community to see the impact that cleaning up can have.”

We have volunteers who do similar clean ups on a regular basis right here in my town of Plettenberg Bay. Bags were collected in less than an hour near Lemon Grass Boutique hotel where many people live in the bushes. Photo of Alison Bryant and her amazing team ‘Keep Plett Clean’.

May be an image of 1 person, standing, outdoors and tree

Do pop by the co-hosts this month to read of uplifting stories and share on social media.

a href=”https://ericlahti.wordpress.comEric”>Lahti</a>, <a href=”https://www.godyears.net”>Roshan Radhakrishnan</a>, <a href=”http://shilpaagarg.com/“>Shilpa Garg</a>, <a href=”https://gardenofedenblog.com/“>Susan Scott </a> and <a href=”https://professorowlsbookcorner.com/“>Sylvia McGrath</a>.

If you want to share your good news of an uplifting story, follow this link to sign up here: https://bit.ly/3aSG3qL

Thank you for reading! Have a great March and may the Force be with you.

47 Comments on #WATWB cleaning communities

  1. Jeanray is an inspiration to the young people; glad to read about his initiative and such a caring act of cleaning communities. While I see how some youngsters keep blaming the government and every one around, its heartening to see people like him taking initiative. Thanks for sharing susan:)

    • It’s an old habit on my side too Shirley, instilled by late mother! It’s never ending. It may not be my trash as someone said, it the planet’s trash and therefore ours. I’ll check out the li k shortly thank you so much. Thank you for coming by, lovely to see you.

    • Later: read it thanks Shirley, great piece – all the things you see when out walking! Amusing too – imagine having a garbage truck named after you – Roamin – I like it!

  3. Power to the people! Something we need more of, but this is a start. I love to see people doing what they can to make things better.

  4. Wonderful post! Jeanray actions, so simple yet so meaningful! I love when people see something that needs doing and step up for the community. Thanks so much for sharing this, for co-hosting this month and for being a part of #WATWB!

    • Thanks Belinda! Yes, it’s so great that individual/individuals get their act together for the community. One idea turned into action … Thank you for co-hosting and being an integral part of #WATWB, a perfect example of you and Damyanti doing just this 🙂

    • Thanks John … I think people are beginning to realise that they’ve got to make the effort if the govt and municipalities do sweet nothing – that’s the message loud and clear in my neck of the woods 🙂

  6. Essential for beauty and our state of mind, not to speak of health. I clean up along the roadside of my property every spring, but there are various volunteer groups who do the same for the National Forest near me. I’m not sure how this will work in covid times, but we’ll find out this spring. Thanks for good news.

    • Thanks Elaine, it’s an ongoing thing all year round. Whenever I’m out walking and I forget to take a bag for rubbish, there are thankfully plenty bins along the way to drop stuff into … ONE day I’m not going to look on the ground .. 🙂

  7. This is a wonderful activity. I did this long ago in my city, and there are several group who do this in particularly egregious American cities–like San Francisco. It makes such a huge difference to residents who must live there.

  8. Thank you for these wonderfully inspiring stories every month. It’s a refreshing change to see the good things people are doing around the world. This is the kind of news I need to hear more of. I think the media should make a point to broadcast one positive story for every negative one they report on. We need reminders of the good in us too.

    • We have a regular update of good things happening here in SA. It’s hard sometimes to choose just one story, but the good stories like this one keep me afloat when so much negativity, especially in politics and other eg GBV is more the norm. Thanks Jeanie for coming by. Glad you found it inspiring!

  9. We need more people like Jeanray. It is so heartening to read stories like this that remind one that through all our little actions in daily life we can make a big difference. Thank you for hosting WATWB.

  10. It’s one of those things that’s honestly so simple. Just go out and pick up trash. Not rocket science, but it seems like no one does it. It’s great to see people taking care of their community rather than giving into the used diapers and masks in the parking lots.

    • Thanks Eric for coming by and co-hosting this month. People are too complex to be simple is my hazardous guess; wish it was otherwise .. but so gratifying when the simple is clear like picking up trash –

  11. Hooray for Jeanray and all those who realize that we need to do our part to keep our planet clean! Thanks for posting, Susan. xo

  12. So interesting and amazing how one person with the right attitude can get a project going. I admire this man and his desire to make a difference in a practical way. Such a good story to add to #WATWB

  13. Hi,
    This is wonderful. Instead of sitting back and complaining, this young man is doing something about the problem. If only everyone would start doing something and stop talking, maybe change would ignite and spread like a wildfire.

    Shalom aleichem

  14. Susan, thank you for sharing the story of Jeanray and his efforts to keep his community clean, as well as the efforts in Plettenberg Bay. It’s important to keep our places clean for the health and safety of the population. There’s enough garbage and trash in the landfills – why have it laying on the ground? It is people like Jeanray who make a difference on our landscape. Bravo to him!

    • Thanks Mary for coming by. Sometimes landfills are full and no other space is made available. In my town there are plenty of garbage containers on the streets and beaches, with signs attractively painted on them, but there seems to be a compulsion to not use them! People like Jeanray will hopefully get the message across! Bravo to him indeed!

  15. Hi Susan – thanks for this … so uplifting to read about Jeanray and what he’s doing for his community, as too Alison and her team. The filth being produced now everyone’s home is awful – so sad to see the little respect we give to our communities and to this land.

    We are doing so much damage … the microscopic particles of plastic being found in our fish, animals and birds – just horrific … the make-up with those tiny ‘essentials’ which now litter the ocean floor – even in the deepest places.

    We need people like Jeanray – so excellent to read about him … he’ll go places – as the others have said. Thanks for the #WATWB … mine will go up on Sunday – bit out of kilter re posting at this moment! I saw people collecting litter the other day along the seafront here … and thankfully we still have street cleaners. All the best – Hilary

    • Thanks for coming by Hilary. I often wonder if we need fat cats in municipalities who in spite of being paid extremely well, do VERY little to maintain the infrastructure of their communities. A good example leads to others also biding by it and it works. Sadly, litter still gets thrown out of car windows, taxis are the worst offenders as are those who say ‘it’s not my job to clean up – people are paid to do that’.

      I look forward to your post on Sunday! Have a lovely weekend 🙂

  17. What a wonderful, inspiring story! Thank you so much Susan for sharing it this month and for introducing us to Jeanray! I’m with Marion, I think we’ll hear more about this remarkable young man in the near future. What a light, much like #WATWB, to the world he is and how satisfying his work, and for the people who help him, must be!

    I love, love, love community clean ups! Living on the coast, we have beach clean ups many times a year … thank goodness because all sorts of rubbish is left behind, not only from visitors, but manmade debris is sadly washed up and deposited by the tide. Items like used needles and broken glass which pose a dangerous threat to all the community.

    I’ll check out the other #WATWB links over the weekend. Love and light, Deborah.

    • Thanks for coming by Deborah. Have you heard of nurdles, those very transparent tiny little bits of plastic used in the manufacture of plastic, no more the size of the tip of an earbud? Washed ashore onto beaches by ships … we had a massive cleanup before and even during lockdown (with permission from the municipality, masked, temps taken, ID’s given etc etc) to sift the sand and pick these little wretched things out. It was a mammoth task … nurdles had been washed ashore on beaches all over the world. It took a few hours each time to fill a small ziplock. And though we weren’t allowed to swim the sea was right there, waves lapping on the shoreline, and people doing their bit, some alone or in groups. I was on my own, blissful time for imagination to run riot while sifting sand! As you can imagine! Plenty other stuff on beaches too. Plenty of clean ups of the community on a regular basis .. Love and light to you too, Susan

      • Oh, every time I visit your “Garden of Eden” blog I learn something new! No, I hadn’t heard of the word “nurdles” until today. I don’t know why I didn’t know but it’s wonderful to discover this info! I had a quick look on Google Images and see what you mean. What a massive environmental hazard those lentil sized plastic pellets are! Thank you for bringing my attention to them and well done for joining your community in taking on the arduous task of sifting sand to remove them from your beaches … makes me think of the Labours of Psyche. xx

  18. Hi Susan, I greatly appreciate you sharing humanity at its best versus a great deal of the opposite in the media. I have a friend who was part of a large coastal clean up recently, collecting over 100,000kg of debris off our West Coast shoreline. As Jeanray says, “…for the health of the children…” Our future generations. Always interesting to learn more about your part of our planet. Thank you for sharing, Susan, people making a difference.🙂

    • Thanks so much for coming by Erica, much appreciated. 100,000kg of debris .. a mammoth effort. Imagine if we each picked up eg 10 pieces of litter a day in our ‘hood, each person would pickup 3650 pieces a year. 10 people doing this daily would translate to 7300 pieces, 20 people doing this 36500, 20 people 73000 if I’ve got my math right! Small steps, big impact! 🙂

  20. Hi, Susan – I always look forward to your #WABWB posts and this one did not disappoint. I agree that Jeanray will likely continue to positively impact his community and beyond. Thank you for sharing his uplifting story.

    • Thanks so much Donna. There are many such individuals and groups who want to better their environment for themselves and the wider world. It’s gaining ground at a fast pace everywhere … 🙂

  21. Thanks for shining a light on Jeanray. Keep an eye on him; history will probably show his influence will expand far beyond his community here. I’ll have to return to check out the other links. 🙂

    You are such a force for good, spreading the light in your part of the world — and beyond. Thanks for all of this, Susan!

    • Thanks so much Marian … there are many like Jeanray who are taking matters into their own hands and seeing the positive impact it has. Small meaningful steps to take back the community. Reminds me of I think it was Guilani, NY Mayor who had the broken window approach MANY years ago? In the 1990’s …

Comments are closed.