A Kariega teen, fed up with his mother having to swerve to avoid hitting potholes on their daily trip to school, is on a mission to fix pothole-ridden streets for motorists in the Garden Town.
Instead of complaining about the problem, Hoërskool Brandwag pupil Divan du Preez put his money, time and effort where his mouth is by fixing the potholes, one by one.
After googling the correct way to fix potholes, , he commandeered his father, Armand, and brother, Eben, to join him on his mission.
Divan would not accept no for an answer, and in just more than a week, they have fixed 30 potholes.
Even though the initial idea was to fix the potholes near the school, the goodwill gesture soon spread to other places where Divan knew the streets required urgent fixing.
He used every cent he had saved up from his allowance and birthday money to acquire tar and other materials needed to complete the work.
Last weekend alone, the three fixed 19 potholes around Hoërskool Brandwag.
“We finished the last pothole at 10pm on Friday,” Armand said.
“It is strenuous work but we made sure that it was done properly.
“I don't know how Divan held his pen on Monday because our hands are still covered in huge blisters.”
He said the biggest pothole they had fixed was in Smuts Drive, Vanes Estate.
The giant pothole became known for damaging many vehicles and often caused disruption in the traffic flow as motorists had to give each other space to navigate around it.
The work involves digging up all the sand and a lot of the physical labour, with Divan buying and mixing 12 bags of tar, weighing 30kg each, to get the job done.
Armand said his son was a shy child, who he knew would be hesitant to pat himself on the back or boast about the work he had done.
“He has never been someone who would complain about a problem or situation.
“As he has shown by fixing the potholes, he would rather find solutions,” Armand said.
Divan has been lauded by grateful residents.
He has also earned the respect of teachers and pupils at the school and the principal called him up to personally thank him during an assembly.
When the blisters on Divan, his father and brother's hands have healed, they will consider fixing more potholes.
After all is done, Divan is just happy that school trips are smoother and his mother no longer has to dodge potholes en route to school.
HeraldLIVE