The We Love Alexandra Community Makeover project was launched to stakeholders on Friday, at a breakfast convening representatives of business, the local community and religious institutions.

The project aims to convene these stakeholders to pursue a collaborative approach to bring about real, sustainable change to the township and its people, and is being spearheaded by the South Africa Day movement.

South Africa Day is a non-public holiday that will be celebrated yearly on the last Saturday of November to celebrate nation-building and social cohesion.

In August 2018, Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba met with South Africa Day representatives, which led to a partnership to embark on the project.

South Africa Day intends to build strong towns and cities by placing economic and business development at the centre of the project. The Alexandra project will draw on experiences and successes in previous town projects.

Speakers at the breakfast emphasised the need for this project, given that the township has not seen much change since the end of Apartheid in the early 1990s.

There is also a vision to keep the vibrancy and culture of Alexandra alive, while pursuing real, sustainable changes.

Speakers emphasised that while the township has its myriad of challenges, it has and continues to produce exceptional people who thrive despite their circumstances. This year marks Alexandra’s 107th anniversary, where it will remember heroes and other iconic residents, such as Nelson Mandela, Hugh Masekela, Dr Irvin Khoza and Linda Twala.

At the breakfast, attendees were given pledges to sign, to indicate their commitment to the project and what their contribution could entail.

The next steps will be support with resources and bringing peers on board.

Following this, there will be a public launch, through means of the Alexandra Tea Party, which entails business executives meeting with local community members for tea at their residences in the township. However, this will only go ahead if there is buy-in from the community.

There will then be 'champion' projects pursued, with a number already being flagged. These aim to supplement work that is already being done by organisations and entities in the townships.

Several community upliftment projects have been identified for the project, such as the building of a high-tech secondary school; the building of a high-tech community clinic; a facelift of sports facilities; the upliftment and development of public spaces in the townships; building a high-tech computer centre; a facelift of the Alex Museum; development of the Alex tourist route; and the building of the Alex market. It is expected that this list will be augmented as the project gains momentum.

It is anticipated that another meeting will be held in years’ time, to chart progress and see what strides have been made with the project.