Suburban
A YEAR ago, a concerned Mt Pleasant resident Mrs Debbie Swales, embarked on project “Magnificent Mt Pleasant” where with the help of other residents and corporates, she has been doing community work aimed at reviving the suburb’s lost lustre.
Peter Tanyanyiwa Suburban Reporter
The community work ranges from cleaning up the environment to fixing roads and pothole patching.
Mrs Swales’ catchment area is mainly the area from The Chase down to Twickenham Road and on the other side between Arundel High School to Alpes Road and all other roads within that area.
In an interview this week, Mrs Swales said she took it upon herself to carry out community work and restore Mt Pleasant to its golden state as she was tired of waiting for the City of Harare to step up but never did.
“Having been a resident of Mt Pleasant for the past 12 years, I was finding it increasingly difficult to accept that we all sit back and blame others, mostly the impoverished City of Harare, for allowing this once beautiful suburb to degenerate and become a cesspit for other people’s rubbish and a place where there was no respect for the environment or suburb as a whole,” she told Suburban.
She went on to explain how her love for community work began and what she has done for the past year since she started the project.
“I am, first and foremost, an environmentalist and this is how the story began. Whilst walking down Bargate Road and across the bridge which spans the Gwebi River, I vowed to do something about the horrendous vista in front of me. Looking at a river stinking of sewerage and so piled high with litter that the water was not even visible. Two causal workers started collecting litter, about 180 bags of litter. A week later, a friend of mine, Taryne, came to assist with the clean-up of the river itself.
“Approximately 400 bags of garbage in total were collected during this clean up and all of it was very kindly transported to the Pomona dump, at no charge, by Helen Davidson from Refuse Collection Services. She still continues to assist us as we continue to collect rubbish every day. Now that the clean-up was done, we had to prevent perpetrators from dumping their garbage into the river. With the approval from Mrs (Marian) Mverechena at the Mt Pleasant District Office, and with the generous donation from Mr Andrew Brown who provided and erected a tall barrier fence on the bridge, we have achieved the result; a clean, unpolluted river, pleasing to the eye, where birds can survive and breed again. This reward of seeing this area transformed from a cesspit to an oasis was, and is, the beginning of many more challenges to come.
The rubbish dumped on Gwebi River which has since been cleared.
“We then employed Timmy who patrols the area every day on our community buffalo bicycle to pick up litter discarded by a few inconsiderate people who disrespect the law. Bargate Road itself was completely overgrown with long thatching grass. Although the grass was a haven for birdlife, it was a recipe for disaster for schoolchildren and other pedestrians who had to walk down the middle of the road, dodging traffic, to avoid the dew laden grass. At first the grass was slashed by hand (but since then we have invested in a trimming machine) in order to open up the pedestrian pathway which had not been visible for many years, never mind used! The pathway itself was covered in soil which had to be removed to make a wide and safe pathway for pedestrians and cyclists alike,” said Mrs Swales.
Bargate Road before the grass was cut and the pedestrian pathway cleared.
From there, she ventured into other areas of Mt Pleasant, regularly trimming the grass along neglected roads and dangerous intersections. The Garlands Road roundabout had been completely destroyed by vehicles over the years and has since been repaired and painted with Mrs Swales and her team continuing to maintain it.
A stop sign painted on Fairway Road where potholes were also patched.
Roads were deteriorating drastically so Mrs Swales’ partner in the venture Mr Brown built a small cart, employed and trained one worker to start fixing the many potholes in the area and this has been an ongoing project now with two carts and two casual workers.
Many of the potholes have been repaired and provided they receive the necessary funding from residents to do the tasks, they are confident that they will continue with the road repairs.
Blocked drains have been cleared to prevent flooding on the roads thereby saving them from damage by water.
Speed humps painted for motorists to see them in good time.
Electrosales and Astra Paints kindly donated white and black gloss enamel paint and road paint. Working in conjunction with City of Harare, the intersection, humps and two dangerous pedestrian crossings were painted by Groombridge shops.
This led to more painting in the area, including humps, centre lines on certain roads, stop signs, curb stones at intersections, roundabouts and this work continues.
Mrs Swales thanked the conscientious people who have rallied well-wishers and donors to chip in order to get their Mt Pleasant roads repaired and the few who have kindly donated directly. She said every penny makes a difference and explained that there is no profit from the work she and her partners are doing. They just give up their time freely for community service.
The cart provided by Mr Andrew Brown.
Mrs Swales supervises the project but pointed out that Mr Brown has been extremely involved and supportive, giving good advice and has also assisted financially.
Using his engineering skills, he has designed and provided the two carts and some of the equipment they use in repairing roads.
The two of them engaged the CoH to make project Magnificent Mt Pleasant a success. She said none of the achievements made under the project would have been possible without Mr Brown’s support.
