A perfectly imperfect world
The picture below is of an urban residential suburb. I’d like to start off by asking you how you feel or what you think when you drive through the tree-lined streets of areas like Westville, Umhlanga or Musgrave, with its large homes and precipitous driveways?
Cliff notes version of my thoughts:
• Sense of hope and potential
• Encourages one to dream for the future
• Wouldn’t be tempted to litter because the community is so clean
• Gives the impression that the people care and that there is accountability and someone in charge
• Houses serve as a medium for external expression
This is a picture of Mariannridge, a community nestled between rolling hills of greenery and the by- product of the group areas act, consisting …show more content…
Some litter accumulates from the chip packets that the children eat after school. Soon, more litter accumulates and eventually, people start dumping bags of rubbish on the side of the road which we have already seen happening. This includes used nappies which has huge health implications.
Presently, the community of Mariannridge is despoiled by chronic litter bugs. We all know the reasons why littering is harmful for the environment as well as our own health and wellbeing so I won’t harp on those aspects but I would like to touch on the fact that the biggest litter problem in the community is chip packets and sweet wrappings.
There is an abundance of sugar-loaded, highly processed food made available cheaply by vendors to the school kids, before and after school. Although this ‘food’ causes the children to put on weight, they remain malnourished, which is particularly problematic in young children who require adequate nutrition during their formative years in order to ensure proper brain development. Additionally, it explains why the teachers have such a difficult time settling the children down in class, because their morning commenced with a sugar overload which is renewed again during the school break and once again after …show more content…
It has a profound message about addressing the root cause of problems rather than trying to curb its symptoms. It goes something along the lines of there is a large waterfall flowing into a river. At the bottom, hundreds of people are drowning whilst those around are trying frantically to save them. However, no matter how hard the rescuers try, there seems to be a never-ending stream of people falling down the waterfall. So one brave saviour abandons those drowning and begins to run upstream. When asked where he is going because so many people need his help, he replies that he is running upstream to find out why so many people are falling into the river. Thus, in attempting to address the source of the problem and prevent people from falling into the river, I now adopt a health promotion and prevention approach by advising caregivers and mothers about the importance of healthy eating and adequate nutrition, with the aim of decreasing the occurrences of little Aphiwe’s (pseudonym has been used) in the crèches and schools in Mariannridge. So my parting words are never to forget that sunlight still enters broken windows and illuminates dark
The picture below is of an urban residential suburb. I’d like to start off by asking you how you feel or what you think when you drive through the tree-lined streets of areas like Westville, Umhlanga or Musgrave, with its large homes and precipitous driveways?
Cliff notes version of my thoughts:
• Sense of hope and potential
• Encourages one to dream for the future
• Wouldn’t be tempted to litter because the community is so clean
• Gives the impression that the people care and that there is accountability and someone in charge
• Houses serve as a medium for external expression
This is a picture of Mariannridge, a community nestled between rolling hills of greenery and the by- product of the group areas act, consisting …show more content…
Some litter accumulates from the chip packets that the children eat after school. Soon, more litter accumulates and eventually, people start dumping bags of rubbish on the side of the road which we have already seen happening. This includes used nappies which has huge health implications.
Presently, the community of Mariannridge is despoiled by chronic litter bugs. We all know the reasons why littering is harmful for the environment as well as our own health and wellbeing so I won’t harp on those aspects but I would like to touch on the fact that the biggest litter problem in the community is chip packets and sweet wrappings.
There is an abundance of sugar-loaded, highly processed food made available cheaply by vendors to the school kids, before and after school. Although this ‘food’ causes the children to put on weight, they remain malnourished, which is particularly problematic in young children who require adequate nutrition during their formative years in order to ensure proper brain development. Additionally, it explains why the teachers have such a difficult time settling the children down in class, because their morning commenced with a sugar overload which is renewed again during the school break and once again after …show more content…
It has a profound message about addressing the root cause of problems rather than trying to curb its symptoms. It goes something along the lines of there is a large waterfall flowing into a river. At the bottom, hundreds of people are drowning whilst those around are trying frantically to save them. However, no matter how hard the rescuers try, there seems to be a never-ending stream of people falling down the waterfall. So one brave saviour abandons those drowning and begins to run upstream. When asked where he is going because so many people need his help, he replies that he is running upstream to find out why so many people are falling into the river. Thus, in attempting to address the source of the problem and prevent people from falling into the river, I now adopt a health promotion and prevention approach by advising caregivers and mothers about the importance of healthy eating and adequate nutrition, with the aim of decreasing the occurrences of little Aphiwe’s (pseudonym has been used) in the crèches and schools in Mariannridge. So my parting words are never to forget that sunlight still enters broken windows and illuminates dark