Our Children Are Playing in Rubbish
Lerato Matebese
Every morning in Thabong, Welkom, our children walk to school with their heads down. Not because they are shy. Because they are walking past mountains of trash.
The smell hits you first. It is sour and heavy. Then come the flies. They are everywhere. On the walls, on the children, in the air. Broken glass cuts the ground. Dirty diapers, rotten food, and plastic bags blow through our streets. Rats run in the daytime, right next to homes and right next to schools.
We asked the municipality for help. That was 4 years ago. We wrote letters. We made calls. No one came. Today the rubbish is still growing higher.
The government gets money to keep Matjhabeng clean. But in Thabong we see nothing. In our streets we see broken bottles, dirty diapers, and rotten food. Mothers are scared. We don’t let our children play outside. Children are sick with coughs, rashes, and stomach problems. The clinic has the records. We have the pain. But still nothing changes.
This is not just about dirt. This is about dignity. If this was happening in a rich suburb, would the rubbish still be here after 4 years? Would children walk past rats to get to school? Why must Thabong people live like this? Why are we treated like we don’t matter?
We are tired. But we are not giving up.
*We are asking for 3 simple things
1. Clean our streets now, and keep them clean every week.
2. Hire our young people from Thabong to do the work. Give them jobs and give us clean streets.
3. Give us one person to call when illegal dumping happens again. Someone who will answer.
I have the proof. I have photos of dumping next to homes and schools. I hear the voices of mothers and children from Thabong saying “Mama, it smells, we are sick”. I have letters we sent that were ignored. I have clinic records of children getting sick.
If people hear this story, the municipality will be forced to act. Our children deserve to run, to laugh, and to play in clean streets. Thabong deserves respect. We are people too.
