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"Little by little adds up to a lot."
This idea motivated Boeta Swart, founder of Anchor of Hope, to tackle the huge task of rejuvenating Bloemfontein’s erstwhile luscious Kingspark Rose Garden and Loch Logan Island.
He set out to make it a place once again where Bloemfontein’s residents can braai, kids can play in the park and the fountain, and where concerts could be hosted.
Anchor of Hope, a non-profit organisation, is a familiar sight at community projects in Bloemfontein. Their work includes running a shelter for men and creating job opportunities for the unemployed by fixing public spaces in the city.
He said:
The area was not at all welcoming with broken fountains and braai areas, run down bathrooms, tons of rubbish and unkept gardens. In the once famous rose beds only two roses survived.
Many organisations wanted to help, but the task ahead was daunting. Then Lottoland decided to help. Leah, presenter of the Lottoland Help ’n Dorp (Help a Town), a series on kykNET , presented Swart with a cheque of R490 000. The community had four weeks to make the money work.
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“We needed help to get it off the ground because the initial cost is always the highest. To start is very expensive – The maintenance is much cheaper,” says Swart. The aim was to make the project sustainable partly by purchasing the right equipment at the start.
Swart Added:
Four weeks later the park was transformed. The multilevel fountain was clean and running, the braai spots were fixed, trees were neatly pruned, fences and irrigation repaired and tons of rubbish had been removed.
“It was the community who came together, and everyone helped. Everyone had very little sleep,” says Swart.
Fixing the dirty, dilapidated fountain was a huge challenge. Johan Snyman, director at OurSA, says as they opened one water pipe or tap the other would start leaking. OurSA is an umbrella organisation for community associations, businesses and community forums and role players in the neighbourhoods in and around Bloemfontein.
Swart said:
They battled with taps getting stolen as soon as they were installed, but then the municipality offered to help with new taps. “This helped strengthen relationships (between the community and local government),” Swart explains.
Another challenge was electrical equipment that fell victim to theft. A private security company offered to patrol the parks at night.
All Bloemfontein’s communities rallied to help – from cleaning the public areas to painting fences and dustbins and planting the first of 125 new rosebushes.
“Everybody lives in the city. We have a responsibility for the same city and this is where you and your generations are going to enjoy the city,” says Lindiwe Mokoena, director of OurSA.
“How do you enjoy that? You must be involved. There is a part for each and every one of us to play.
Mokoena adds:
Mpho Mojanaga, director of OurSA , wants to see Bloemfontein attracting investment and creating jobs. “We want an area where our young people can participate in sport and cultural activities. A clean area free of crime.”
Johan van Heerden, CEO of Free State Cricket, is proud of the new environment. Anchor of Hope helped us to clean the road in front of the cricket stadium and to beautify the rose garden at the back, he says.
The area attracted 20 000 people during two international games against Australia. “It was a wonderful experience with the beautiful, clean areas around the stadium,” says Van Heerden.
“What I saw in Bloemfontein is that every little bit helps. Whether you give R5 or a coke. Everyone that helps make a difference,” says Swart. “Little by little adds up to a lot.
Snyman says the way in which the whole community came together is the biggest inspiration.
“It makes me excited that we can move forward. The Lottoland project gave us the opportunity to forge new partnerships and with new partnerships we can do even more.”
