Sep 17, 2018
Volunteers came out in numbers to take part in cleanups facilitated by the Shoprite Group on World Cleanup Day (15 September 2018). Some 250 cleanup events took place in eight countries across Africa.
This cleanup drive comes on the back of the retail group staging Africa’s biggest cleanup July 2018, in which 12 000 volunteers participated in 465 cleanup events in 12 countries.
- Lunga Schoeman, CSI spokesperson for the Shoprite Group
One such cleanup champion is Refilwe Mofokeng, a staunch environmentalist, who organises monthly coastal cleanups in the Durban area. World Cleanup Day is also International Coastal Cleanup Day, which prompted Refilwe to organise a cleanup of the Durban Harbour.
She founded non-profit organisation Refilwe Matlotlo (Refilwe’s treasure) to educate people of the importance of keeping our oceans clean.
- Refilwe Mofokeng, Marine Biology PhD student
In Cape Town, Shoprite’s top brass cleaned up the city centre in the single biggest cleanup (in terms of the number of participants) organised by the retailer so far. No fewer than 335 managers attending the Group’s annual Christmas Expo, some coming from as far afield as Ghana and Nigeria, got their hands dirty to keep the Mother City clean.
Every Shoprite, Checkers and Usave store in the Free State and parts of the Northern Cape organised a cleanup of its local area. Their efforts alone saw some 120 local communities benefiting from a cleaner, friendlier environment.
- Lunga Schoeman