A few people responded to my appeal last week, which is a start. Although it is hardly the beginning of a movement
Because Stan Medalie began his feeding scheme simply to feed a bunch of recyclers, rather than develop something that would be replicable anywhere else, it really is a work in progress.
The next step is to refine it into bite-size chunks so people who are willing to get involved, can do however little or much they can with the minimum of effort. We have discussed it briefly once since last week’s article - but we still need to define exactly how it can be simulated.
There is, however, one thing we can all do immediately that will improve their lives and that is sort our rubbish. Separate plastics, paper, glass and metal as best you can when taking out the garbage. It really will make a difference for very little effort.
When you consider it, as one of the TrashJunkies so eloquently put it, “in a small way, we are helping save the planet through our recycling”, it is not a lot to ask.
Watching Stan feed the TrashJunkies last week and learning about the amazingly philanthropic Hugo Paluch, intrigued me enough to do another article on the recyclers. Although I hadn’t initially planned to, I became convinced when I received a message from Sharon, Hugo’s grandmother, informing me they would be distributing groceries donated by, “moms in the area”, to the same group of recyclers we fed last week, and she wondered if I wanted to attend.
I certainly did. I find watching the kindness of guardian angels in action, very motivating. When I arrived in Glenhazel at the meeting point, just like last week, there was a long row of trolleys and humongous plastic bags of trash, lined up alongside the pavement – as if ready for a quick getaway.
This time there were 26 TrashJunkies sitting or standing around chatting. Sharon introduced me to Yael and Amanda who were helping her. This grocery distribution scheme has been in place since 2016 and grew out of Hugo’s efforts to collect food for his “boys”.
ow it works is: in conjunction with a local store, Kosher World, an arrangement has been put in place where, when people pay for their groceries, they can at the same time donate any amount to an account. “We suggest R150, but are happy with whatever people give,” says Sharon. At the end of the month the store packs grocery parcels according to a list already provided to them.
On the last Wednesday of the month, the store delivers to the collection point and the ladies distribute the parcels – the exercise I was now attending. Again, much like when Stan fed them, there was very little fuss. The boxes of groceries were labelled by name. A first this time, was the packet of basic medication which was donated by Dis-Chem. Things like muscular pain relief ointments, pain relief pills, throat pain relief lozenges and plasters. “I meet with these chaps every Wednesday,” Sharon says, “to find out what problems they have and what they need. “Inevitably they have some cold or pain or pulled muscle and want some medication – which they can’t afford.”
I asked Sharon what they did when people outside the group needed help. “We try to accommodate them,” she says, “but we also try and cap the number for the time being, as it is still really a pilot project. But quite often if someone doesn’t turn up to collect his groceries we pass them on to a newcomer.” Just for clarity’s sake – Stan’s operation and this one are not connected, although he did arrive to see how things were going. When they all shouted “Madala” in greeting, he said to them, “I might be madala, but I’ll be running the Comrades again this year”.
This brought forth some barracking and one guy said, “I will run with you”. Given there were so many TrashJunkies around, I thought I might as well interview one of them. As if reading my mind, at that moment one of them walked across and said he had enjoyed last week’s column. “You write so nicely,” he said. Well, flattery got him the interview. His name is Hosea Mabaso and he is 24 years old. He has been recycling for three years now. “I come from Mpumalanga,” he says, “but I grew up here in Gauteng, in Hillbrow. I went to a government school in Melville and passed Grade 11.”
He left school because his mother passed away and he had to get a job. After working for a construction company for almost a year, along with 50 other workers, he was retrenched. “Then I met this guy who taught me how to recycle.” Without a hint of conceit, he tells me it only took him three days to learn the business, “because I am a very quick learner”.
He is also surprisingly eloquent. He lives on his own at an abandoned house in Bertrams, where he has a shack he pays R250 a month rent for. It turns out his brother is among the group. “We don’t live together – he stays at Orange Farm, but we get on really well. I love my brother, Mlungisi,” he points him out, a veritable giant of a fellow who smiles and waves at us. Hosea is quite a small chap. When I comment on the disparity in their sizes he laughs and says, “we have the same father but different mothers”.
I asked Hosea what his view of his “profession” was. “I find it unique in a way. It is not like a normal job. It is not good in terms of health and so on; but then we do it because we can’t find other jobs and some of the guys are foreigners. And we need to live.” He elaborates on the health aspect. “It is not good to always be working in these dirty bins. We can pick up diseases because we don’t have the proper safety gear. We can’t afford it.” Returning to the day’s activities, I ask him how long the groceries will last him. “For me, because I live alone, they can last the whole month. So I only have to spend my money on rent and send some back to my father.” About the dinner that Stan brings them, his face lights up and he laughs. “Ahh… that is the best part, we all really look forward to that meal. “You know they say great minds think alike? Well even though Hugo was just a boy and Stan is an old man, they have the same thoughts.
Doing goodness for other people.” I asked him how they kept the numbers from growing and all the other recyclers joining. “If they come, we do not send them away – we just stick with them. Sometimes you can get five or six guys who don’t get groceries and it is quite painful. I feel bad because I imagine how I would feel if I didn’t get.” I mention that generally the group seems to get on – wherever I look there are recyclers chatting and laughing. “Yes,” he says, “we are like family. “We know the Pikitup schedule. So we start in Rosebank on a Sunday. “They take the bins out then, but they are only collected on the Monday. “So we have time to sort out the rubbish. Then we move on. Some go to Killarney; some go to Houghton; some go to Melrose… there are many places.” How far do you walk in a week? “If I could guess I would say about 200km. But I’m not really sure.” I then ask Hosea if he had a choice what would he rather do. “I’d like to work with machinery or be a forklift operator – anything that requires me to work with machines, I enjoy.”
: Chris and Stompie: I got an e-mail from Denise saying Chris has sold one bird-feeder for R100. Also, that he had a few parttime jobs such as gardening, window cleaning and painting. She says Stompie has an ear infection so Chris was off to the SPCA. Lastly, “unfortunately I have not had any enquiries whatsoever about the feeders to date”.