By Palesa Ndinisa
On the 26th of July 2025, Clean Projects in partnership with AfriForum’s Benoni branch and tenant stores in Lakeside Mall which include Home Choice, Panarottis, Spur, Incredible Connections, Abrams and Oasis Water cleaned Bunyan street at the N12 Freeway off-ramp.
Clean Projects is an nonprofit organisation (NPO) that changes the town by cleaning, painting and cutting grass in Benoni. The project came to life in January 2023 when a number of concerned citizens living in Benoni united to make a positive impact and clean the streets of the town. Speaking to Alison Etherington, the founder and Director of the organisation, states that the purpose of the project was to make Benoni a spotless environment. “We started cleaning on the Snake road intersection. I remember my husband gave me an ultimatum, that we either immigrate or clean up the mess. We cleaned up the mess and we never expected this project to be this big. The community jumped on board and we have 13 employees who clean the streets five days a week. We cut grass, find curbs and repaint them. We also pick up litter,” added Etherington.
The founder also stated that there is a route they currently take to clean the town which involves main roads. One of their goals is to branch out. “Lakeside Mall contacted us and asked how they can help, we saw this as good timing because we planned this event as part of our Mandela Day Celebration. This road is also one of the entrances to the mall, so it’s a perfect collaboration. We’re grateful they came on board and we hope the partnership continues,” said the founder.
Etherington furthermore expressed that the organisation’s costs are covered by the community. “We have business sponsors that pay R3000 a month. Our residents also pay R50 a month, some of them take out more. We’ve been covering our costs from March 2023 through our community donations. Most of our residents get debited monthly. We’ve had a trailer donated. We bought a vehicle and we have all the tools we need to keep our streets clean,” uttered the passionate woman.
The Lakeside Mall’s Centre Manager, Amy Yelliah expressed how grateful her team is to be a part of the initiative. “We’re happy to work with Clean Projects and the AfriForum branch in Benoni. Considering that Lakeside Mall is one of the biggest businesses in Benoni, we wanted to contribute to our community in anyway we can. Nelson Mandela’s biggest focus was community, since it’s Mandela Month, we followed his lead to better our community,” excitedly expressed Yelliah.
In attendance as one of the volunteers was Jennifer Bentley, a 16-year-old resident from Benoni who expressed interest in helping to clean. “It’s such a shame that such a beautiful town has gone to waste, I love restoring places to what it was and uplifting the community. My peers also need to know that they can find joy in helping others,” concluded the young lady.
