On September 18, World Cleanup Day, residents of Alexandra Township (Johannesburg, South Africa) joined forces to rid the Jukskei River of trash.
This year 50 million volunteers from more than 180 countries celebrated World Cleanup Day on September 18 by collecting plastics and other polluting materials found in nature. For the residents of Alexandra Township, the operation focused on the Jukskei River, a vital point for their community. The Jukskei River is one of the largest, most influential and most iconic waterways in the city of Johannesburg. It originates near the city center, flows through the suburbs along the eastern edge of the city, and then becomes a tributary of the Crocodile River further downstream. Its waters eventually flow into the Indian Ocean.
Jukskei: as polluted as it is iconic
The river is a source of water to drink but also a natural space in which the children of the district could bathe and play. Unfortunately the state of pollution of the river made this impossible… The will of the volunteers, associated with municipal works, made it possible to return to a part of the river its cleanliness. The motivated inhabitants are convinced that the pollution of their river is not a fatality and that it can, with the investment of the whole community, find its former cleanliness. Even if the level of insalubrity is still very high in this river, the organizers of this cleaning day firmly believe that their efforts will allow the residents to come back and enjoy the site.
