Thumbnail: Siyabonga Stengana fights environmental decay in the Western Cape of South Africa by cleaning up communities, raising awareness, and converting dumping sites into recreational centres. There are many challenges: With no funding, Stengana and his colleagues lack adequate protective clothing, exposing them to infection. Despite these challenges, Stengana is determined to continue his work.

Profile: During the COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa, Siyabonga Stengana’s community, Mbekweni, was heavily hit. Stengana was appalled by the amount of waste. “We certainly could not afford to live that way of life,” said Stengana. He mobilised a team of colleagues to address the problem. Soon, using old tyres, paint, and recycled material, they had converted illegal dumpsites into recreational spaces. The dumping sites had actually become attractive.

South Africa is estimated to generate about 12.7 million tonnes of waste per annum. Stengana wants to remedy this situation. At different forums, he seizes the opportunity to address members of his community on the dangers of illegal dumping.

“Illegal dumping,” he has said, “has significant negative impacts on the environment, public health, and the economy. It can lead to pollution of soil and water, attract disease-carrying vermin, and create fire hazards. Furthermore, illegal dumping lowers property values, impacts tourism, and costs municipalities significant amounts of money for clean-up.”

Passionate about positively developing the environment, Stengana is credited for turning illegal dumpsites in Mbekweni and Langa—low-income communities—into art centres, attracting visitors. To date, he has converted over 40 dumping sites into recreational spaces, safe for children to play in. Stengana has turned some of the spaces into income-generating projects such as car washes, tshisa nyama (outlets selling meat), and art, thereby providing employment to young people. (An estimated one-third of South Africa’s workforce is unemployed.)

Stengana's interventions also fight mental disorders among young people and promote their health. For example, when youth are involved in productive environment work, they are less likely to become drug abusers.

Stengana's work is not without challenges. He sacrifices much of his personal life to concentrate on his environment work: “This work is time-consuming. I had to stop everything and focus on what I started.” In addition, working with no proper protective clothing due to lack of resources, Stengana and his colleagues continually face the risk of infection: “Most spaces that we clean and rehabilitate,” says Stengana, “are unhygienic. Without proper clothing, we are at risk of infection.”

Despite these challenges, Stengana is optimistic about the future: “This is a calling for me. . . . I want to see a clean and productive Mbekweni.”