Sonet Stofberg from GROOTfm, Helpende Hand’s Mariana Kriel, Annelie Bouwer from GROOTfm and singer Monique Steyn during a #Lositbeter action. (Photo: Provided)
The motto of the community radio station GROOTfm 90.5 has always been “big in the small”.
Therefore, in celebration of their tenth birthday, they are going to put their words into action and mobilize communities to make a small but real difference in their immediate surroundings amid the overwhelming need in the country.
For ten months, between February and November, this beloved radio station, as part of their #Lositbetter project, puts the spotlight on a specific challenge the country is faced with every month.
Along with this, listeners, welfare organizations and experts in these specific areas are approached to create awareness and make a difference.
The GROOTfm announcer, Annelie Bouwer, also talks every Tuesday between 11:00 and 12:00 on the Brunch with Annelie-program with various role players in this regard.
This initiative was launched at the time by Lindie Strydom, former GROOTfm project manager, and is now managed by Sonet Stofberg and the GROOTfm project team.
According to Sonet, the core of this project is to offer sustainable solutions from the community, for the community.
In February, the spotlight was on the theme, “clean”, with the focus on recycling and basic hygiene.
Henk Holder, an entrepreneur and the owner of Lelapa Recycling, talked to the GROOTfm team about his new, unique business that mobilizes individuals and businesses through recycling for the environment and their own financial situation.
The radio station put Henk, as part of their #Lositbeter project, in contact with the Louis Botha Children’s Home in Pretoria, which itself started a recycling project to cultivate a culture of care among their children.
During an interview on GROOTfm, Henk surprised the orphanage with 27 bins from Lelapa Recycling for their campaign.
GROOTfm itself also donated four specially approved dustbins to the Tshwane municipality after Malcolm de Klerk, a municipal ward councilor explained during a discussion about pollution that there are currently too few pedestrian dustbins in large parts of Pretoria.
While the focus was on “clean”, Andrew and Arina Doyle from Basileia Patria also visited the GROOTfm studio and talked about their involvement in a welfare action, called “Streetshower”.
This initiative seeks to restore homeless people’s dignity by giving them the opportunity to shower in a mobile van, get their hair cut and put on clean, new shoes and clothes. Along with this, they receive a meal and counselling.
In the month of March, the emphasis was on “right versus privilege”, specifically in relation to the celebration of human rights day.
The GROOTfm team together with daughters who were assisted by #Lositbeter during the month of March. (Photo: Provided)
The GROOTfm team decided to focus their attention on the availability of sanitary napkins among schoolgirls, and they therefore joined hands with the MENstruation Foundation.
This organization aims to provide learners and institutions with this need with containers equipped with a year’s supply of sanitary napkins. Girls or young women who make use of it are given a special coin which is placed in the machine and they are then provided with a tissue.
Thanks to a donation from We Buy Cars, the GROOTfm 90.5 team was able to donate such a machine to two Pretoria schools.
GROOTfm listeners also contributed to collecting and donating more than 900 sanitary products to Solidarity Helping Hand’s #HelpHetta project, which donates these products to needy girls.
This month the focus is on rhino conservation and according to Sonet there are still many exciting issues and projects for #Lositbeter.
“The GROOTfm team is grateful to individuals and groups who set the pace for ‘making a difference’ and in this case, ‘cleaning up’ our environment. Thank you to the role players who prove to us that making a difference lies in the ‘small’, and that making a difference starts with me and you,” says Sonet about #Lositbeter.
- Visit GROOTfm’s website at grootfm.co.za to find out more about this initiative.
