Meet the Community Members

Read on to meet the members of the Maitland Garden Village community!

                                               Ronell Trout

Ronell is the Chairperson of the Green Light Project. She has been a vital link between us and the community. She graciously volunteers her time for the better of the village. She is very passionate about Maitland Garden Village and is eager to engage other members of the community, specifically youth, through redeveloping Perseverance Park. Aside from volunteering her time to giving back to her community, Ronell works in administration at a funeral parlor. However, the Green Light Project is a major passion of hers. She refers to herself as a “people’s person”, a trait of hers that is evident through her work with us and the community.

                             The Green Light Project

The Green Light Project is a community development program that focuses on community assets and organization is made up of an executive board and 9 committees: a Fundraising Committee, Awareness Committee, Dancing Committee, Gym Committee, Gardening Committee, Soccer Committee, Drum Majorettes Committee, First Aid and Home Care Committee and a Music Committee.  They are extremely involved in the community and work hard to involve everyone in the projects and events that they hold. We marched with them in the Village Day Parade and presented our final design to the community at the 2^nd Anniversary of the Green Light Project on 16 December.

                                                   Naiela Baatjies

Naiela is a member on the executive board of the Green Light Project. Although she currently resides in Maitland, she and her thirteen siblings were born in raised in Maitland Garden Village, where her mother and sisters still live. She is still very involved in the village. Naiela is the mother of a seventeen year old daughter and three year old son. Besides the Green Light Project, Naiela cooks for the MGV Soup Kitchen every Tuesday afternoon. She is excited to see the park being improved and looks forward to spending time there with her family.

                                                                                            Gavin Jacobs

Gavin is another member of the Green Light Project. Like Ronell, Gavin volunteers a lot of his time to community development. His family has lived in Maitland Garden Village for five generations. He has studied at the University of Cape Town, specializing in theater and later becoming a ballet dancer. He is very knowledgable about the history of Maitland Garden Village and the surrounding area. He is proud of where he comes from and is passionate about encouraging youth to work towards bettering their futures. This is one of his goals through the redevelopment of Perseverance Park, giving the youth of the community an opportunity to gain experience in preparation for other opportunities that may arise in the future. One of his work mottos that he has shared with us is “It’s not about working hard, it’s about working smart”.

                                                                  Martin Julius (Uncle Marty)

Uncle Marty is very involved in Maitland Garden Village, including the Green Light Project. He assists Naiela with the MGV Soup Kitchen, is a member of the community organization known as “The Roaring Sixties”, and has a strong passion for helping children achieve a bright future. Within the Green Light Project, Uncle Marty is involved in the Gardening Committee. He has quite the green thumb, as is evident looking at the garden outside of his home. We hope that he can bring ideas on community gardening and different plant species that may be best to incorporate into the park.

Cecelia Fouchee

Cecelia is the Chairperson of the Residents Association. She has large contact with many members of the community, which will be important to gain support in the implementation of the park redevelopment. She resides across the street from Perseverance Park and will have her eyes on it throughout the process.

Residents Association

The Residents Association is a community organization that worked to come up with the idea of redeveloping the park. Both members of the Residents Association and the Green Light Project came together before our preparation term in September and decided that the community would benefit from a developed park, acting as a place for community members of all ages to enjoy.

                                                                                                     Carol Booysen

Carol is the principal of Village Tods Educare Center, the crèche located in Maitland Garden Village. She is a spirited woman who is passionate about her work with children. She is very welcoming and enthusiastic about working with us to involve the students in the park redevelopment.

Among the many community members we interacted with, we had the opportunity to work with different youth as co-researchers!