Picture: Lenka Libertová from Pixabay
ISN’T it alarming? We all probably read recently how the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) warned communities along the Harts and Vaal rivers, from Christiana downstream, to be careful after detecting cholera bacteria in water samples.
The article went on to say that cholera was detected, among other places, just down the road from us at the Barkly West Caravan Park. This prompted the DWS to caution residents to avoid drinking or even coming into contact with untreated river water.
Of course, Kimberley residents have been assured that our treated, chlorinated water is safe for use and consumption; still, it leaves one a bit uneasy knowing that there’s a nasty, murderous bug doing the backstroke a hop, skip and jump away, who is eager and able to go on a killing spree.
I am not going to point fingers. I already tried that approach back in November 2022, when I wrote a column ‘No more reason to worry?’, unpacking my concerns about the sewage water from the lake on the R31 possibly being drained into the river at Barkly West, worried that such a move could cause some sort of an environmental problem … like cholera, for example.
No, I am not pointing fingers at anyone. Rather I am throwing my hands up in desperation, thinking that eternally ideal, but utterly useless, thought that starts with “If only …”
For example, if only the majority – or even just more than there are currently – of people in South Africa, both citizens and our guests, were less inclined to litter everywhere, urinate anywhere, and drag our society down into filth, problems like cholera outbreaks might become rarer.
Or if only more people would grasp the concept of basic hygiene. Maybe, if only for the sake of the younger generation, we could start intensifying, emphasising and repeating lessons on cleanliness.
And it’s possible. I have visited a few communities around this country where people are less inclined to litter, while in some places in South Africa, I have witnessed people going that unbelievable step further and actually clearing up other people’s litter!
I am not even pushing for a mighty, expensive, extravagant “Green Movement”, all I am suggesting is at least starting a “Stop being a Morsjors Movement” … even in our homes and communities.
Who else is tired of seeing drivers or passengers just casually lob litter from car or minibus windows? I know I am!
Father Mark Goldasich, a pastor in Tonganoxie, Kansas makes what I consider a good point when he says: “Maybe our disrespect for keeping nature beautiful is just a consequence of having polluted hearts. If we can’t seem to stop the ‘littering’ from the inside out by changing our hearts, maybe we can start from the outside in, by taking better care of our physical surroundings.”
Or, put more succinctly: “Be part of the solution, not the pollution.”