Why am I an activist ?
Nobulawo Sitshaluza
I am a 42-year-old female, a mother of Kamva Sitshaluza, and I was born in Roodepoort. I have two siblings. My parents are Nzimakazi and Ndabelanga Sitshaluza. Snakepark was established in the early 90s.In the year 1991, due to mine closures, my father lost his job as a mine worker. He worked in the area of Roodepoort. The mine was called the Durban Deep mine for many years. I attended my early schooling days in Durban Deep Primary School and finished my Grade 12 here in Snake park at Sebetsa-O-Tholemuputso High School.
Growing up in Snake Park, dust was always there, and also the sewer problem. There were no security guards guarding the tailing; therefore, criminals stole the steel pipes from the tailing. Those pipes that they stole were watering the tailing. Now, it has been 34 years since the Snake Park community has been dealing with the dust from the tailings. Our environment is not conducive because of the toxicity from the tailing mine dump. In Snake Park, there are also a number of dumping sites and a problematic sewer system that, when blocked, runs down our streets, creating a negative impact on our community’s health. I am an activist also an active member in my community, I got to learn more about my rights. The constitution has a dedicated section 24, which states that everyone has a right to an environment that is not harmful to his/her health or wellbeing. When it is windy, it becomes very dusty because of the dust that comes pouring down from the tailing to our community.
The tailing needs to be demolished, but I have also seen how the Phyto-project helped to remedy the situation when it comes to tailing mine dumps. Our community members themselves need to be responsible not to dump their waste on open spaces, and when it comes to sewerage, our government needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with a better way to handle the sewer drainage system. Most sewer systems are built in people’s yards or near their gates, causing spillage next to their home when blocked.
In most cases, I volunteer my time to any project or organization that helps my community. In that sense, it’s easier for me to better communicate with my community. In Snake Park, our environment is not ideal for us as residents.
There are several organizations and individuals who, like me, believe change can still happen in Snake Park. There needs to be conversations and a proper way forward that needs to occur, and leaders who will stand for communities. As an activist, my primary concern is my environment and to encourage my community to take responsibility for fixing the issues in our environment. It was very wrong for our government to allow a community to settle in this area in the first place. Our clinic (Siphumlile clinic)is also known as the TB unit due to the huge number of community members who get sick from inhaling dust that comes from the tailings.
