Thank you for supporting
a #CleanaRiver campaign as part of the
World Water 2021 theme of 'Valuing Water'
A campaign launched in support of Water Warriors on National Water Week
Campaigns
14th Church Street ~
Diepsloot Ext 6 This School has been built of 16000 EcoBricks! (+10 Tonnes of plastic stopped from entering landfill or rivers) Help a team of Water Warriors & Activists Paint the School, Clean Up the Streets & The River Area with the community
Help with EcoBricks for the new school building or gardens ~
or pledge to assist job creation for unemployed community members cleaning the Streets & The River #from their community 4 their community
Painting and finishing the school to gratefully set a new standard ~
Assist or pledge towards ongoing work to replace the roof using repurposed plastic
Beneficiaries:
1. The ongoing support of Water Warriors
looking after these and other catchments;
2. Displaced citizens within the affected
areas to receive food, water and opportunities for work, training and a
restoration of dignity;
3. All of us in the 'ecosystem', as we all need water to survive!
Campaign Objectives;
World Water Day has been held on 22nd
March each year since 1993. It is an initiative spearheaded by the UN,
alongside UNESCO, the World Water Council and the World Wildlife Fund supporting Sustainable Development Goal #6, to provide sanitation and water for all
by 2030. The theme for World Water Day 2021 is ‘Valuing water’and is celebrated as part of National Water Week in
South Africa. The 'CleanaRiver' campaign brings awareness and action to these objectives and will be ongoing through 2021 until the next World Water Day.
Full Background;
In South Africa, David Grant from The Rotary Action Group ‘WASH’ (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) together
with Lions Clubs are collaborating
with ARMOUR (A Voice for Water) NPO and
dedicated local river warriors to launch the CleanaRiver campaign starting by celebrating the World Water Day
over the Human Rights weekend of 20th
to 22nd March.
The CleanaRiver campaign initially aimed to
support and further the work of the following River Warriors and
catchment areas; The Sandspruit River (northern Johannesburg) under the
direction of Wendy Malpage of Bubele
Africa, The Hennops River (Centurion)
under the direction of Tarryn Johnston of
Hennops Revival and Boksburg
lake under the direction of Derek
Fox from the Rotary Club of Boksburg.
Mark McClue from ARMOUR explains “these leading
Water Warriors and other active citizens have been busy throughout the year where
possible cleaning and restoring these stretches of river which all make an impact downstream into the
main Jukskei, Crocodile and Klip River systems and ultimately find their way to
Hartebeespoort and the Vaal Dam either side of the Witwatersrand.”
The World Water day message of Valuing Water brings awareness to citizens
that the value of water is about much more than its price. Water is key to an
ecosystem for our households across culture, food, health, education, economics
and the integrity of our natural environment. If we overlook any of these
values, we risk mismanaging this finite, irreplaceable resource.
Water is in critical short supply in South
Africa with a 17% shortfall anticipated by 2030, yet rivers in Gauteng are
polluted with sewerage, industrial waste, illegal dumping and trash including
an abundance of consumer plastic as a result of their behaviour, use and
management of water. South Africans are encouraged to change the way they think
and act if we are to address the anticipated water shortages. Water is also key
to cultural, recreational and spiritual areas with this function largely threatened
by pollution and pressures from habitation. It is here that CleanaRiver wishes to unite people through the cleanup
actions by water warriors and active citizenship bringing awareness whilst
protecting and restoring river areas.
David Grant, from Rotary expands on the campaign.
“There is also a humanitarian crisis along the river areas consisting of
homeless persons who live in camps out of sight of the general public. Many of
these persons can only earn meagre incomes from waste recycling and casual
labour. They are caught in a poverty trap from which few manage to escape. Many
are educated able persons who work hard and have been displaced by the system
further impacted by Covid. CleanaRiver plans to aid hiring persons to assist
with programs in the camp vicinities and in exchange for assisting with the
cleanup training is being arranged for recyclable waste to be separated for
reprocessing including the manufacturing of eco-bricks and other re-purposing
projects.”
Mark McClue from ARMOUR adds “Citizens can assist by joining a cleanup or by making a pledge of just R200 they can help a person making a
positive impact to them, the environment and water around. To date over 500
people have received work and 1 million kilograms of waste has already been
removed by the water warriors.”
The objective of the ongoing campaign is
not only to remove and possibly recycle waste, but to grow a sustainable ongoing
public awareness of the dire state of our rivers and how we should value our
critical water resources. Access to clean water is a Human Right entrenched in
the South African Constitution and thus a good reason to help 'CleanaRiver'.
To participate in the campaign, join a local
cleanup or assist by making a pledge here to #MakeAnImpactDownstream via www.ARMOUR/CleanaRiver.
Sponsorship and CSI collaboration is welcome
from companies and with other Water Activist and Water Warrior groups.
For more information or to start a CleanaRiver campaign please contact :
Mark McClue for ARMOUR (Action for Management of our Rivers) 0812629505 Mark@ARMOUR.org.za
David Grant for Rotary 083 626 4523 davidgrant.rotary@gmail.com
www.ARMOUR.org.za/CleanaRiver
#AVoice4Water #MakeAnImpactDownstream #CleanaRiver #FromtheCommunity4theCommunity
www.CleanaRiver.co.za; Pledge@CleanaRiver.co.za; David@CleanaRiver.co.za; Mark@CleanaRiver.co.za
