While losing weight generally comes at a cost, with costly gym membership fees and the correct diet, that will no longer be the case for SST informal settlement residents.
Fitness fanatics, those who want to shed extra kilogrammes and children who seek enjoyment can now achieve their goals at no cost, thanks to a newly refurbished play park.
The facelift was completed on Friday 24 February. It forms part of the ongoing rejuvenation of parks in Ward 93.
The revamped park features a range of training equipment for all ages. It has also been divided into two sections – a children’s playing area and a training facility.
Ward 93 councillor Thando Pimpi said there is an ongoing mission to revamp all the parks in the area. With two parks already refurbished, work is expected to start soon in the one remaining park.
“In my ward, I have three parks. Two of them are in Greenpoint and one is in SST. I only did the one in Greenpoint and the other one at SST. All the work is done with our ward allocation money. The ward has R200 000 allocated for parks only in this financial year,” said Pimpi, adding that the third park would be revamped soon.
According to Pimpi, the park was damaged by criminals a few years ago.
“The park has been coated with paint and has turf mats. It is decorated with art education, where they draw numbers and alphabets for children. And also an animation art on the side for the gym,” he explained.
Pimpi said the park would be useful to the children and crèches in the community.
“The challenge here is the lack of recreational facilities. Our children do not have places to play. Some of the children are playing on the roads,” said Pimpi. He urged the community to look after the park.
Akhanya Thukwayo (12), from SST, praised the contract workers for their efforts.
“The park is colourful and decorated with numbers. We will not play far away from our homes anymore,” he said.