Cape Town - The City of Cape Town acknowledged the important role neighbourhood watch (NHW) teams across Cape Town play in trying to make communities safer.
At an award ceremony held at the Civic Centre on Saturday, safety and security Mayco member JP Smith and mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis officiated the ceremony, thanking residents for their efforts.
For the individual award category, Wynberg East NHW’s Shannon and Dylan Pike won members of the year.
Harfield Village NHW’s Elmarie Raubenheimer bagged the mobiliser of the year award, while Nerissa Estate NHW’s Zuhair Moosa won the award for crime-fighter of the year.
In the group categories, Strand NHW came out on top as group of the year while New Horizon (Pelican Park) NHW received double honours with two awards for situational crime prevention and social responsibility.
New Horizon NHW’s Saadiqah Ganief, 26 said: “We were taken by surprise and humbled at the same time. It was a moment of feeling overwhelmed when the awards were handed over to us.”
She said their active participation is spurred by social ills: “What keeps us motivated are the social ills within our community. We are eight years in existence and during our early establishment we received the broken windows training (and) this actually sparked the understanding and need that if you see something, do something.”
Ganief said as a crime prevention group they believe that active change comes from educating and assisting youth, children and the elderly in their community.
Her advice to other crime prevention groups is: “Stay true and humble to your passion of patrolling the streets to fight crime. Irrespective if you receive negative comments or are told you are not doing enough, persevere and continue the fight against crime. Because we do it for today, tomorrow and our future generations.”
Strand NHW chairperson Carl Gersbach, 60, said he was proud to be a recipient but they don’t do it for awards.
“The awards were never the motivation to do the work. We do it because we care about the area and the environment. It’s not about winning awards.
“I didn’t expect an award so I was totally surprised and overwhelmed but I am very proud of it and will be for a long time because I know how much work goes into it and how much time residents put into it.”
He said at the heart of Strand’s success was teamwork.
“I always say it’s not a ‘me’ thing, its a team effort. There is no point in moaning and complaining about certain things in your area. Roll up your sleeves and start doing,” Gersbach said.