By Lindani Donyeli
Simamkele Ngwenyeni and Mpho-Entle Moyikwa claimed this year’s Mr and Miss Recycle titles at Andrew Moyake School of Excellence’s third annual competition. The event was conceived by project coordinator Zuzeka Ndumiso and her colleague Nolonwabo Mkabayi.
The project started in 2023, driven by the purpose of combating the “dirtiness” in Makhanda communities — dirtiness caused by illegal dump sites– by encouraging recycling.
Mkabayi and Ndumiso started by teaching their learners, educating them about the importance of taking care of the environment. They also introduced easy ways to encourage taking care of the environment, one being the Mr and Miss Recycle competition.
Ndumiso says this activity aims to help learners acquire new skills in designing, allowing them an opportunity to design what they want in a way that suits them. She recalled the first time they hosted it, “only our school [Andrew Moyake] was involved, and the venue was not really good, but the following year it was hosted at a church, I forgot the name of the church but it was a lot better than the year before. This year we decided to expand it to other schools in Makhanda. We want all learners in Makhanda to help clean the environment.”
Ndumiso continues to say, “the beginning of Mr and Miss Recycle is to advocate that people should not be littering everywhere. People should see what they are throwing away, what is it that they can make out of it. The event of this year was successful because we had learners from different schools who participated in the project for example a T.E.M Mrhwetyana learner who has designed their costume joined us, I hope other schools as well could follow in their footsteps.
“As the co-coordinator of the project, I hope the Municipality will provide tangible support, since we don’t have money. I wish that next year and onwards, this project be called ‘Makhanda Recycle,’ so that everyone from primary to high school can participate, and we can work together as one community,” she said.
Jonathan Hellemann, principal of Andrew Moyake said, “when we talk about the environment, we know that it is part of the Municipality’s structure. For us to have Mr and Miss Recycle [competitions], it is a mandate to support environmental education and awareness – this is an extension of that, dealing with recycling. We are trying to make it more exciting and educate more people about environmental issues. How can we protect our environment, even on the streets and where we live in Makhanda?”
Hellemann believes this is not the final step – they have an attitude towards Makhanda of wanting to do more and better. “2025 is just the stepping stone,” he said.
They had a massive response on social media – within half an hour they had about a thousand views, with people engaging and asking what was going on. “That is very encouraging. In the long run, I do see growth. The Municipality has also seen the value; they allowed us to use the hall for free. The municipality sees that these people are doing something that we were supposed to do, so let’s support them.”
“Each school has its own unique role to play in Makhanda. But when it comes to environmental matters, we need to all be on the same page,” said the Principal. “The environment affects all of us, and we are amid environmental challenges. As schools, we have a direct impact in educating the future leaders of the country. Let us step up and use this opportunity. Let’s support one another in whatever area we are in – use our strengths.”
“We want to use environmental awareness to spread the message to all the learners of Makhanda, to improve the way the Makhanda area is. As individual citizens, we contribute to environmental issues. We throw papers on the floor. We must fix our attitude and ask, ‘Why am I throwing papers on the floor? Let me put it in the dustbin.’ Those are the changes we need.
“The success of our community depends on a clean, healthy environment. Where the environment is clean and natural, and is there for people’s benefit, health improves. A happy environment and clean environment leads to a conducive environment – a good environment for all Makhanda residents,” Hellemann said.
