We have some feedback regarding what is going on with our fight to regain our right to clean air in our beautiful area.
1. Upper Highway Air NPO:
We are very proud to let you know that we are officially registered as a Non-Profit Company at present (NPC Reg: 2016/469153/08).
This organisation allows us to fundraise on a much larger scale, we are going to be approaching corporates, shops, individuals etc who will then be able to claim a TAX reduction for their donations. It also allows us to have a legal entity when we go to court as residents.
We have created a Facebook page for the NPO – Upper Highway Air NPO. This is where updates and feedback will be posted as well as any media articles and news. The Facebook closed group – Hillcrest, KZN – What’s That Smell will remain open for now but we have to ask people to please read and respect the group rules. This is for yours and our protection as certain individuals have already received harassment and defamation letters from what has been posted. Whilst we try to review every member who requests to joins the group, we cannot pre-empt every members agenda for being there.
2. Reporting:
Please keep reporting through the website – www.upperhighwayair.co.za. The complaints are sent through to the DEA, eThekwini Municipality, EnviroServ and the committee so that we can keep a record. Please do not worry if you do not receive a reference number from Nomfanelo from the eThekwini Municipality as we have the records. You do not need to duplicate your complaints submissions by emailing/SMSing anyone else – the website is sufficient.
The complaints received over the last 3 months are:
– September: 925;
– October: 1,532;
– November (to date): over 2400 !
3. Upper Highway Air App:
Whilst we have tried to make the reporting as easy as possible, we had a fantastic offer from a community member to build an app for us to assist with the reporting. The “Submit Complaint” pulls weather info automatically into your complaint and there will be buttons to quickly populate the “Type of Odour” etc. We do not have a launch date as yet, but we are very excited for this.
4. Testing:
Air testing has been done, with successful results for us. This is ongoing, and at present we have 24 hour monitoring over the last week.
5. Toxic Trek:
We are in the process of organising a ‘Toxic Trek’. The march has been postponed until January /February of next year. The aim here is to hold a march/walk/peaceful protest and walk through Hillcrest. In order to raise awareness of our problem, fundraise and to all meet and get to know each other in a unified way. Strength in numbers. We will be inviting SDCEA, groundWork and other environmental parties who are our allies. The media will also be invited so that we can get as much coverage as possible. We will need volunteers to marshall on the day, and we are thinking of having some food stalls etc at the end. Please start thinking of your outfits and getting your signs made.
6. Legal:
We are not going to just rely on the DEA for remedial action. We have had a meeting regarding legal representation. This was discussed in our community meeting and will also be further elaborated upon in our next update. Should the legal route be taken in this matter, correct procedures and protocols need to be followed in order to ensure the successful outcome of the this matter for our community.
7. Community Meeting:
A community meeting was held at Winston Park Primary school on Wednesday the 23rd of November. We had a fantastic turnout from residents and we hope that some light was shed on the matter and that we can all work together in a mutually supportive environment from here on out. A more detailed press release will be sent out to highlight key issues discussed especially for those who were not able to be in attendance.
8. Donations:
THANK YOU to each and every member of our community and local businesses who have donated to our cause so far. As this affects such a vast number of people in the area it benefits us all. If you have anything to donate for auction, raffles, expertise etc please make contact with us. Every bit helps. Margaret Stoop has been a phenomenal asset to UHA and has therefore been officially appointed to head up our fundraising division, Thank you Margaret for all your hard work !
9. Volunteers:
If you have any time to give, whether to hand out flyers at robots, put flyers on car windows etc. please also make contact. The more awareness we have, the more power we have. If you have any expertise in a specific area or contacts which you feel would be useful please also come forward with your suggestions. We would love to spread the load and work together. Please see our website and fill in a volunteer form.
10. Fundraising targets:
Our estimated monetary target for legal, consultants, testing etc is sitting at R1,000,000 (one million rand). Currently we have Just over R66,000
Please note our banking details are:
Upper Highway Air NPC
First National Bank
626 538 45291
250 655
We are also registered on Backabuddy to simplify the donation process, click here to donate.
To subscribe to our email updates please click here.
With this all said, please remember that we are all volunteers and are doing this to restore our area back to good old Upper Highway. We are not getting paid to do this and we give of our personal family time to make a difference, for us all.
The Upper Highway Air Team
The post UHA NPO Update appeared first on Upper Highway Air.
]]>