Imagine getting a group of teenagers excited about having to pick up litter in their community for an entire afternoon. Schools and parents have been trying for years to make kids litter-conscious and, most of the time, their efforts are in vain.
But, CAST’s area coordinator in Lamontville decided that he was going to tackle this task and rally up the troops from the Lamontville Baptist youth group to clean up an area of the community.
“I wanted to give the teenagers an opportunity to evangelise to and explore the community they are a part of.”
He is really passionate about his community and he wanted to do some sort of community outreach project that would allow the youth to learn about service and would also be a blessing to the people of the community. He wasn’t expecting many teens to turn up but was hoping for at least 10. So when 28 eager volunteers arrived, followed by another 29 a little while later, he knew this would be a successful venture.
So off they all went, armed with gloves and rubbish bags , ready to get the litter off the streets of Lamontville.
The project ran from 11am until 3pm and eventually the group had to stop because they ran out of rubbish bags. A total of 200 black bags had been filled to the brim with rubbish.
“My goal was to expose the teenagers to something they wouldn’t normally do. I wanted them to see the response they would get from the people in the community. I also wanted the people living in that area to see the teens taking responsibility and being an example of Jesus.”
The response from the youth group was a positive one. They are all really excited to get involved in future projects and currently want to help create more facilities and opportunities for coaching sports in this particular area.
This man, who grew up and lives in the township himself, has big dreams for his community and is being equipped to make a difference.
