Clydebank Post | News | Help from Africa

Wednesday, 7th January, 2009

Published: Wednesday, 17th October, 2007 10:00

Help from Africa

By Colin Hutton

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Bid to make community proud of its surroundings

Image related to story, see caption or article text

CLEAN-UP: Left to right — residents, two community wardens and the team with Charlotte Atta who is pictured far right

Pic by: Picture by Stewart Robertston

A neighbourhood blighted by rubbish was tidied up this weekend thanks to the African community.

The group of 20 women joined residents for a clean-up operation in a bid to boost community spirit.

Washing machines, pool tables and furniture have all been tossed out of the Kingsway Court flats in Scotstoun and the women hope the clean up might encourage people to take more pride in their surroundings.

The event, at the weekend, was backed by Kingsway Court Health and Wellbeing Centre (KCHWC), Glasgow City Council (GCC) and the Dumbarton Road Corridor Environment Trust (DRCET).

Jassim Johe, refugee development and support officer for KCHWC, said: “The message is that you should keep your area clean and be proud of the area you live in.

“We want people to try to protect the environment by being good citizens.

“Sometimes you come in in the morning and it’s disgusting so we have to clean it up three times a day to keep it looking nice.

“It only takes one to make the mess and then others have to tidy it up.

“Kingsway is one of the few areas that’s actually getting a lot of help from the locals and we are simply trying to build on that.”

The pioneering group of women — led by Charlotte Atta from the Ivory Coast — have been involved in similar clean ups in other parts of the city and tend to target neglected areas.

With the help of cleaning equipment from GCC and recycling bins provided by DRCET the women attempted to transform the flats into a tranquil, serene haven for residents once again.

Charlotte told the Post: “We wanted to clean up Kingsway because a lot of asylum seekers live there and one of our group lives there too.

“By doing this clean up we want to contribute to Glasgow life.

“Most of us are asylum seekers and are not allowed to work so this scheme allows us to be involved in Scottish community life.

“We want to say a big thank you to Glasgow for giving us shelter and food and allowing our children to go to school.”

Frank McMaster, from DRCET, added: “We are very happy to get involved with any community group that want to improve their area and our ultimate aim is to enhance the whole of the Dumbarton Road area.”

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