In and around Pietermaritzburg, Musa Ngubane is a community hero whose life’s work lies in caring for the environment. But, when his trusty bakkie broke down earlier this year, something extraordinary came from it:
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa (14 March, 2024) — Pietermaritzburg’s Musa Ngubane loves his community. So much so that when he found himself between a rock and a hard place in 2020 (his employer wished to relocate him to Zululand), he decided not to leave, deciding he would make a plan to stay.
“Musa had to do something to survive. His entrepreneurial personality came to the fore, and he decided to start a recycling business, and Myaluza Waste Management was born,” Stephnie Baleta, residential coordinator, shares.
Musa dedicated the next years of his life to ensuring that Pietermaritzburg and its surrounding environments would be taken care of. Every week, he hosted a weekly curbside collection for suburbs from Chase Valley to Pelham (for free) and also encouraged youngsters to look after their areas through an initiative where they could earn some extra pocket money by bringing recyclable waste to him.
The suburb service, especially coupled with his incredible attitude, quickly put Musa on the map as a community hero.
“He has performed this service consistently and reliably for almost 4 years and those people who he has interacted with have seen what a great guy he is. I cannot quantify the volume, but over the years, he has prevented tons and tons of recycled waste from going to the landfill,” praises Stephnie.
But in January, Musa found himself in a big predicament after his trusty bakkie broke down—an essential part of his business and community service.
“The quote to repair it was just short of R15,000, which he could not afford, and the business ground to a halt,” Stephnie tells Good Things, Guy.
But then, something extraordinary happened in the forms of a ‘thank you’, a’ keep going’, and a ‘we need you’.
“The neighbourhoods he services rallied around him,” Kerryn Tarr, a Chase Valley local beams, adding that Musa has helped all of them recycle and save the environment.
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Chase Valley, Scottsville, Clarendon, Hilton, Prestbury, and Pelham, amongst others, banded together to raise money for Musa, with Stephnie being an integral part of arranging the fundraiser.
Together, they raised around R28,000, which would not only cover the repairs but help Musa with operational costs too.
“This response was beyond our wildest dreams and Musa was able to restart collections on Monday 4 March,” says Stephnie who touched base with Musa recently.
Musa was beyond grateful for what his community did for him and is happily back on the roads making a difference.
Sources: GTG Interview; Stephnie Baleta, Kerryn Tarr
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