A groundbreaking ablution block initiative by The Greater Tygerberg Partnership (GTP) has emerged as a beacon of progress for thousands of users in the Bellville community since its inception in November 2022.
Situated strategically on the corner of Kruskal Avenue in the bustling heart of the Bellville CBD, this safe and convenient facility has improved access to hygienic amenities – sanitation being one of our highest needs for all. This facility services informal traders and their customers, marking a significant milestone in community development.
Thanks to the facility, both male and females now have access to clean, accessible ablution facilities for a nominal fee of R2.00 per use. Open daily during general trading hours, the block features disabled access and baby-changing facilities, catering to the diverse needs of its users.
Monique Muller, Project Manager at GTP, expresses her enthusiasm for the project, stating, “The success of the ablution block initiative underscores its potential to transform urban communities across South Africa. To date the project has provided over 56 000 users access to clean ablutions.”
“Its modular and scalable nature presents opportunities for replication in areas where informal traders lack access to hygienic facilities, ultimately enriching the lives of countless individuals and fostering economic growth. It also offers an ongoing opportunity for funders to make a substantial difference to micro-entrepreneurs in other cities across South Africa,” Muller adds.
Raising the lid
Since its inception, the ablution block has served a staggering 56,358 users, affirming its indispensable role in addressing a critical need within the community.
The success of this initiative stems from a collaborative effort, uniting design students, designers, city officials, and key partners such as GrowthPoint, MES, Boudry Architects, Galojo Projects, Container World, Durbanville Engineer, Viking Deco, and KSL Engineers. Another shining example of the power and change that exists in community collaborations.
“We are also proud to share positive stories from the team cleaning and managing this facility daily. One of the employees managed to become financially independent and rehabilitated herself to gain approval for a permanent rented homestead of her very own,” Muller affirms.
As the GTP looks towards the future, continued support and collaboration from partners, stakeholders, and funders will be vital for extending this transformative model to more locations across the Western Cape and beyond. With sustained investment and dedication, the ablution block initiative stands poised to make an enduring impact on communities far and wide.
Murder Matter
In Toronto I saw a bumper sticker on a parked car that read: \”I miss South Africa.\” So I broke the window, took the radio and left a note that read: \”I hope this helps.\”
Twine X
A British man on safari walks into a bar far out in the reaches of a game reserve in Southern Africa, he stays at the bar for a while shooting the shit with the bartender and drinking like a fish, he offer to buy the barkeep a round and since no one else is within 2km of their small oasis of liquor the barkeep obliges. The englishman goes off to the bathroom to have a good old go at the porcelain, he\’s back and ready for a few more whiskeys. He\’s just sat down when suddenly in the distance he hears a scream. He looks over his shoulder and dismisses it as nothing, he turns to the barkeep and orders a drink, takes a sip and hears the scream again. He looks at the barkeep who just shrugs it off. A minute or two later he and the barman hear it again and go outside to take a look. They see a lone figure running towards them screaming, he spots them and lets out a cry, RUN!!!!! HE\”S COMING!!!!!
The barkeep and the Englishman both look at the terrified bedraggled sight before them, and try to calm him down, but he\’s completely inconsolable. They give him water and finally manage to get a word out of him but he struggles free from their grasp and run away screaming.
A few minutes later the same thing happens with a whole group of men running in and screaming, he\’s coming, he\’s coming the barkeep grabs hold of one of the men as he tries to sprint past the bar and tries to get information out of him, again no response other than terrified gibberish.
The barkeep and his customer are starting to get worried, they start to pack up before another group of horrified natives run up to the bar most of them flee but one tries to hide behind the bar, the barkeep pulls out a shotgun and points it at the terrified man\’s face, finally managing to coax some words out of him. \”He\’s coming for us, Vernon Koekemoer is coming for us, we have to hide!!! We have to get out of here.\” He gets up and tries to run but the barkeep grabs him, feeling trapped in a panic he grabs the barkeeps shotgun and blows his own head off. The Englishman and the barkeep look at each other starting to really panic now.
They look out of the window and off in the distance they see a tornado coming towards the bar, at the bottom of the tornado they see the hugest beast of a man they have ever seen, as he gets closer they spot that he is riding a rhinocerous and using a crocodile as a riding whip, with each smack of the crocodile across the back of the rhino the louder is screams and the faster it runs, the tornado following it getting ever larger.
The 2 look at each other and start to fortify their position, they\’ve got a gun and they\’re waaay to drunk to run, so they start piling bar stool and tables and anything they can get their hands on to make sure they\’ll be safe when he arrives. They\’re not gonna make it, they can see the man slowing down his rhino, by now the crocodile is nothing but reptile paste on the bruised rump of the half dead rhino, the rhino drops down dead from exhaustion and crashes to the ground right outside the bar the tornado loses it\’s last breath in a cloud of dust as the huge man crashes his way through the make shift barricade and charges up towards the bar where the 2 men have taken shelter, he grabs a bottle of the hardest liquor on the shelf and down the entire litre in 1 gulp, he peers over the bar sobbing and sees the 2 defenders cowering down behind the crates of beer, they look up at the mans\’ face and he stares at them with a look of complete and utter hopelessness, he stares at them for a half second and half screams, half sobs, \”Oh my god what are you still doing here!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!! Vernon Koekemoer is coming!!!!\”