Maryam Salie
- Group:Individuals
Maryam Salie
I am the founder of the pilot project Sandvlei United Community Organization (SUCO), which was born out of desperation for basic services in our community of Macassar. A large portion of our community has no indoor plumbing, and they were forced to get water from neighbors and build outhouses. Our organization managed to attain standpipes and mobile chemical toilets, making the poverty-stricken lifestyle of many families tolerable. The support we give is ongoing and includes different facets such as job creation, education, and basic health services, as well as feeding schemes where possible. An important issue that we have been battling for more than a decade now is the polluted state of the Kuils River flowing through our community. It started to pose serious health risks and many attempts were made to remediate the situation. SUCO plays a key role in bringing all the pivotal stakeholders together to better the environment. I am actively involved in the environmental clean up projects which entails the pilot bioremediation of the Kuils River as well as the Zandvliet Wastewater Treatment Plant.