Short film celebrates unlikely conservationist’s efforts

On 17 August, at 16:14, Beautiful News will release a short film about Pfarelo Ramugondo of Limpopo. She started an initiative to clean the rivers and streams in her village in order to improve the water quality and health of the community, thereby earning the attention of President Zuma.

The rivers of Ha-Makhuvha Village, once untouched, became places for dumping rubbish, thereby contaminating the water sources that so many in Limpopo rely on. Ramugondo couldn’t stand the state of the streams any longer, so she waded straight in and initiated a ground-up project that restored the water quality and the health of her community. “It is a fundamental human right to have access to clean drinking water,” she says.

The Tshikofokofo Adopt a River Project began in 2010 with a team of 100 people. Most were students from nearby FET colleges who shared Ramugondo’s interest in cleaning up their rivers. It was time-consuming work that relied on volunteers. With such a huge task ahead and no funding to support it, many helpers dropped out.

But Ramugondo persevered and local leaders took notice. The Department of Water and Sanitation offered training in waste management and firefighting, while the Vhembe Municipality assisted with the collection of rubbish bags. The project’s success was recognised with The Order of the Baobab (Bronze Award), a national honour awarded annually by the President of South Africa.

This small step towards a cleaner society had a big impact on Ramugondo’s village and surrounds. Others have followed her lead, while many communities choose to sit and wait for effective service delivery.

Ramugondo is also providing environmental education to the communities that are fed by the water source to ensure the rivers stay clean. By serving her environment and her people, Ramugondo has become an unlikely conservationist. Much like the baobab, she is a symbol of endurance and growth in the midst of adversity.

Visit https://www.facebook.com/beautifulnewssa/ or www.beautifulnews.co.za on 17 August at 16:14 to view the short film, and you are welcome to embed the video from the Facebook page on your website. Source: Grapevine Communications.

News - Date: 17 August 2017

Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

Email: [email protected]