Looking For An Abode In Hillbrow, Berea And Yeoville

The eKhaya Neighbourhood Improvement Program is aiming to change the face of Hillbrow as it is shifting gears in the direction of strengthening its cause.

The eKhaya Neighbourhood has now increased to include Pietersen, Klein, Claim, Ockerse and Smit streets in Hillbrow, now encompassing roughly 16 blocks.

In the category of “Sustaining Johannesburg” it has been triumphant in winning the Halala Joburg Award of the Johannesburg Development Agency. Josie Adler as co-coordinator of the eKhaya Neighbourhood has done commendable work towards changing the face of Hillbrow. This is having a positive effect on investment property in the area, and will hopefully encourage improvement in similar areas such as Berea, Yeoville, and Braamfontein.

In an attempt to improve the atmosphere in Hillbrow and its cleanliness and security, the curriculum that was started in 2006 under the patronage of the Johannesburg Housing Company, has been deliberately improved.

The affiliates of this company comprise of proprietors hailing from the sector of profit and housing. This consists of almost 30 suburban buildings. These buildings are symbols of Hillbrow’s development.

EKhaya is in the concluding phase of forming a proper city improvement district or CID in short. The CID will try enforcing compulsion to all the structures in the neighbourhood to make contributions towards the successful establishment and the provision of its services. All the structures will be under a responsibility to contribute to the development of the CID.

Cleanliness The cleanliness programme will include a compulsion to organize cleaning operations in one of the dirtiest parts of Hillbrow. This programme has enabled the cleanliness of the footpaths, by-lanes and tube ducts, while some of these passages have been clogged to prevent criminals from escaping from these routes.

There are such passage ducts in the city’s heart that completely ruin its new found face. The cleaning programme does not have the permission to penetrate so deep into the city as the owners of these passageways shrug off any responsibility towards the city. Josie Adler also points this out.

Carol Morris is a component of the management team looking into eKhaya’s cleaning. In her words a "big change" has taken place in the city’s development and cleanliness since she came into the programme in July 2007. She bears witness to the fact that the people residing in the city parts which are being cleaned are happy about it.

Security With the eKhaya security men always in the city limits the women can now move about more safely without the fear of being robbed or assaulted. They are usually posted in the common places of unrest like that of the blind passages or nooks. The vigil of the security guards has led to a significant decrease in the criminal happenings in the city.

Rashad Mahomed, the Security team manager of eKhaya testifies that there were two murders two years back and the guards managed to put those murderers behind bars after controlling the rate of crime. After arrest the security guards surrender the criminals to the police force. People can now roam about freely even in the notorious Pietersen Street.

EKhaya Park On a piece of unused land on Claim Street, EKhaya Neighbourhood founded the eKhaya Park, funded with the City’s resources. The residents residing in and around the park are responsible for maintaining it.

Since its inception, eKhaya has mainly run with the help of sponsorship by JHC and its co-founders. Each day sees an increase in its membership and aids.