The multiple award-winning water-bottling brand, aQuellé, in Kranskop, KwaZulu-Natal, has partnered with local authorities to conduct sustainable clean-ups in neglected areas of neighbourhoods. They have already completed over 80 clean-ups across all provinces in South Africa, making it the most sustainable clean-up program ever. This rapid growth shows maturity.
The team will continue cleaning the country across regions, as there is a huge demand from local authorities to help them clean up their communities. The vision is a cleaner South Africa that will translate into a healthy country; we already see the positive effects. The brand ensures its clean-up campaign lives beyond individual clean-up days to impact all communities for good.
The project coordinator, Gladson Songelwa, emphasized the importance of community involvement, stating, "We believe in cleaning up our surroundings before pointing fingers at others. Our first clean-ups at KwaSizabantu Mission, Kranskop, and Mapumulo were initiated in collaboration with our community. We raised awareness about the importance of a clean environment for good health and held talks about the significance of clean environments. Our approach was not just to clean, but to make a meaningful impact. This led us to reach out to other communities with neglected areas, and our clean-up efforts expanded rapidly, thanks to the active participation of our communities”.
The clean-ups in collaboration with local authorities are a win-win situation. Sharing resources, knowledge, and experience can take a service delivery project to the next level. Collaborations allow the aQuellé-teams to help identify problem areas. This way, success stories are passed on to different regions.
There are several reasons why aQuelle prefers to work with local authorities and allows them to take the lead. Firstly, it helps them to strengthen relationships. They take the excellent advice and assistance they receive from a specific municipality and apply it to benefit other communities. Through these close interactions and collaborations, they can identify gaps and shortages and provide help where needed. For example, the team is currently assisting with additional resources and will offer rubbish bins where there is a shortage. Similarly, some municipalities have helped and taken clean-up efforts to the next level by bringing equipment to improve service delivery to those communities, such as fixing potholes.
The aQuellé brand has received numerous well-deserved awards over the years. It was recently voted South Africa's most-loved bottled water brand. The brand benefits the community by creating a model for collaborating with local authorities to develop sustainable, clean areas. The inspiring impact of these initiatives is a testament to the power of collective action and community involvement.
To find out more about the clean-ups and how you can become involved, visit www.aquelle.co.za/KHULA or www.facebook.com/aQuelleKhula
Comments