Vannie Hanover Park celebrated its fourth anniversary with a market day on Saturday 27 April.
Amid gang tensions in the area, founder of the fitness-centred organisation Glenn Hans says it is important to celebrate the positive things happening in Hanover Park.
“It was a difficult time to have it, as gang violence is really just having a huge spike. Yet, we went forth and had a good time in our community,” he says.
With a variety of stalls, residents were also entertained by Rebels 021, a dance group from Bonteheuwel.
Face painting, jumping castle and music rounded up the entertainment.
Since its 2020 inception on Freedom Day, the group has grown from a day-time-only initiative to now include night-time fitness classes.
“The organisation has grown beyond my expectations,” says Hans. “We have around 50 to 60 members in the evening who attend fitness class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I knew we would make an impact in Cape Town, but I didn’t know we would make such a huge impact.”
Their highlights include their participation in this year’s Cape Town Carnival on Saturday 17 March.
Outside of this, filling the Cape Town International Convention Centre for an event and taking people to the Westin Hotel adds to their roll of achievements.
But while this is a fitness-centred organisation, they have grown beyond this to a community-centred organisation.
“When there is a shooting or incident, Vannie Hanover Park members are willing to do some grievance responses,” he says. “In addition to fitness, we are creating opportunities for job creation. We are using our registration number to create jobs and taking part in ward committee meetings, making sure everything goes smoothly in our Ward 48.”
