“We want to emphasise the importance of keeping Mbekweni clean. We want to send out this message because we are living in a community that is currently facing another ‘pandemic’, that of illegal dumping. We want to educate our community by saying that ‘a clean environment is a healthy environment’.” “As people who want to live here and make this community an attraction, we need to put the emphasis on cleanliness,” says Bulelani, highlighting the importance of creating awareness around this problem. “The only way to curb this issue is to start recycling and to start campaigns and workshops to educate people on health and hygiene hazards (surrounding illegal dumping). We also need to change our thinking so that we can maintain a clean environment.” Siyabonga and Thulani both reiterate this point and hope that by creating a clean environment Mbekweni will leave its footprint on the South African tourism map. Thulani is set for London later this year for the international release of his book Angel’s Wings . Here he will also be representing Mbekweni. “There are lots of things that are already great and beautiful about Mbekweni that I want to highlight to the world out there. “With the documentary, we want to introduce something else to people. We want to teach people how to keep the place as clean and tidy as it should be. To attract interest in tourism we need a clean space where people can feel free to walk,” said Thulani, who will be co-directing with Paarl Post journalist, Heleen Rossouw. While 2022 seems to be the year of opportunity for Bulelani, it has not always been smooth sailing for him. Yet, he kept to the grindstone and this paid off. “One of the challenges that we faced was to source funds for renting equipment for the documentary. We are very happy to announce
that one of our sponsors, the Paarl Rotary Club, has made sure that we have the desired equipment to shoot in July. Also, another challenge was marketing and distributing the documentary. With Paarl Post being on board, we can breathe a bit easier. “We look forward to the documentary, which we expect to launch towards the end of the year.”
Bulelani expresses his gratitude to the Paarl Rotary Club for ensuring they have the desired equipment to shoot.
Bulelani Ndzuzo is tackling the topic of illegal dumping in Mbekweni in an upcoming documentary titled “Scenes of Mbekweni”. Bulelani and his fellow “soldiers” in the war against waste spoke to Vars about this project. Press play to learn more.
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