Safety in Wynberg got a healthy boost thanks to the efforts and selflessness of a local group of community ambassadors.
On Wednesday 21 June, a total of 22 community volunteers were presented with their accredited certification at an awards evening in Rondebosch.
The event was arranged and organised by the Mayoral Urban Regeneration Programme (MURP) in appreciation of their dedication and hard work.
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Present at the ceremony, showing their support, were ward councillors Emile Langenhoven (Ward 62) and Carmen Siebritz (Ward 63).
Established in 2012, MURP targets geographic spaces such as Central Business Districts (CBDs), Town Centres, Civic Nodes, PTIs (public transport interchanges), TOD (Transit-oriented development) corridors and activity streets that are regressing rapidly as a result of neglect and poor urban management.
Wynberg West was officially included in the programme on 7 August 2019.
The MURP area where ambassadors are deployed falls mostly in Ward 62.
Community ambassadors, the City of Cape Town’s website says, are unemployed community volunteers “who are given an opportunity, through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and Department of Community Safety (DoCS), to be the City’s ears and eyes on the ground”.
They are deployed in crime hotspots to increase visibility and to deter crime.
The ambassadors also identify service delivery failures, report them and follow up on resolutions.
For their efforts, they receive R180 per day, reflective jackets, reflective vests, beanies, thermal mugs and safety boots.
Hailing from Wynberg East, Ottery, Bonnytoun informal settlement, Plumstead and Fairways, the team of volunteers – many of who are also involved in their local neighbourhood watches – started their journey on Monday 3 April.
Siebritz says she is incredibly proud of these ambassadors.
“We have a very diverse team from in and around Wynberg who are passionate about what they do and they take pride in the community that they serve with a hunger and passion, to learn more and make an impact in the precinct and by large their local communities when they return home,” says Siebritz.
She says the most heart-warming, though, was to have afforded the team from Bonnytoun in the programme.
“There was no way this project was not going to be inclusive of all.”
To prepare them for their roles, the volunteers received training in first aid, health and safety, basic counselling and leadership capacitation.
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Langenhoven says the training the ambassadors received is also a good opportunity for them to be able to have other careers outside of what they are doing right now.
“They have security training, which is accredited, as well as IT training, and there are quite a few other training programmes that they have access to while being ward ambassadors. So this provides them with a great opportunity to expand their skills and to become employable outside of the ward ambassador programme.”
Siebritz adds, based on what they have achieved in these few months, the training has been a huge success.
“Some of their achievements include creating the census of the street people who have occupied Prasa land (in Wynberg), they have ensured 80% of C3s logged are actioned by constant engagement with departments, their visibility has made a positive impact on the general crime within the precinct and so much more,” says Siebritz.
