The glory days of the Bombay Road Civic Centre
Recently I travelled through Bombay Road, only to break my journey at a local tea room, to buy myself an icecold bottle of Crerars's Bullseye Pop. An absolute thirst quencher on a hot day.
It was a nostalgic moment drinking the giant cool drink next to the Bombay Road Civic Centre.
I immediately had flashbacks and vivid memories of my adolescent days in this once active and vibrant community.
Bombay Road Civic Centre was always a landmark for its local people and visitors.
It was once the soul and heartbeat of a caring community, that shared and engaged in activities such as cultural and political meetings, eisteddfods, school activities and weddings.
Out of curiosity, I visited the Centre to reminisce after my fifty years of absence from the area.
Today it is a hub of activity for desperate SASSA applicants, who range from seniors, young adults and teenage mothers. The young mothers were carrying their newly born babies wrapped in woollen blankets to show them off to SASSA officials.
The people wilted under the intensive and intolerable African sun, only to be protected by a thin corrugated iron sheet.
The electric fans were not working because they were old and broken.
The Sassa applicants made paper fans to cool themselves off.
A solitary water bottle was tucked in a corner, to quench the thirst of hopeful applicants.
Trepidation filled my mind, when I considered how far my people had to walk to reach this level of desperation.
After 29 years of freedom and a hard fought for democracy, we have provided a just and better health, welfare and social system and facilities for our people.
Sanitising, seating and social distancing was non-existent. Nobody obeyed the rules of the centre. The dirty sticky plastic chairs were stacked together for the next day’s session.
There was no evidence of a well maintained and organized centre, that I remembered 50 years ago.
The ablution facilities are an absolute health hazard. Sanitising equipment was not available for one to use. The toilets were foul smelling and the flushing systems were broken.
The surrounding area lacked proper signage for visitors.
The Bombay Road Civic Centre is now in a state of collapse, decay and decadence. There is no visibility of community and civic pride by the present generations and inhabitants of the area.
Nothing in the area could pick up my spirits and put a smile on my face.
I remembered my old Thunee card playing friends like, Cool Jack, Chin and Uncle JB. They have all left the area and journeyed on.
My thoughts raced back five decades of a clean, well monitored, maintained and manicured centre.
What happened to my people, their spirit and responsibilities?
I call upon the elected ward councillor, local business, medical personnel, artisans, civic leaders and NGOS to come together to start a clean-up program and upgrade of a once proud and vibrant Civic Centre.
It is what you can do selflessly for your community and not what the municipality can do tomorrow for your area.
Concerned resident