Overseas visitors help with Kurland’s clean-up

Unlike most tourists to the Garden Route, there are adventurous overseas visitors putting their hearts and backs into improving life for the less privileged. Willing Workers in South Africa is a volunteer organisation based at The Crags that introduces overseas volunteers to projects in need. Foreign volunteers exchange their knowledge, labour and skills for board and lodging and in doing so help to uplift previously disadvantaged communities while experiencing South African culture first hand.
The latest to join the WWISA's programme is a group of nine college students from the Ozarks Technical Community College in the US, who will work alongside local residents as part of the Western Cape Clean-up Campaign. The campaign aims to improve the environment and alleviate poverty through integrated clean-up operations, minimise pollution and inform people about environmental awareness. The group will be working in Kurland Village, a township about 30km from Plettenberg Bay with a population around 3,600.
Working with local residents, the volunteers will clear away old building rumble, car wrecks and litter and establish secure areas where rubbish can be left out of reach of children and stray animals. The Bitou District Municpality and Plettenberg Bay Municipality are funding the project. In tandum, the campaign hopes to educate people about their environment and the best ways to preserve the astounding natural beauty of the area. For WWISA, the clean-up operation is part of a bigger picture in terms of improving life for the residents of Kurland Village. It is helping the Kurland Community Development Forum to raise sufficient funds to build a multi-purpose community centre in the village. The centre will provide residents with a wide range of educational opportunities, including a more dynamic approach to environmental and health issues.