Jane Goodall maintains that, ‘the greatest reason for hope is the indomitable human spirit.’ She asks, ‘How can we despair when we are surrounded by amazing people who tackle seemingly impossible tasks and won't give up and who inspire those around them?’ (cited in De la Bedoyere, 2004: 8). There are many such ‘amazing people’ in the South African environmental movement, working with passion and dedication. One such person who is connected to Goodall as the co-ordinator of her Roots and Shoots environmental education project for young people is Mandla Mentoor.

MANDLA MENTOOR AND THE SOWETO MOUNTAIN OF HOPE

Tshiawelo koppie in Soweto used to be a crime-ridden and litter-filled place, feared by the local people. Now the site of the Soweto Mountain of Hope, it is a lively scene filled with people working in the food garden, planting trees, creating art objects out of a variety of waste materials, playing drums and sitting chatting in the shade of the landmark water tower that looms over the hill. Car tyres painted in bright colours, reminiscent of those from the 1980s peace park movement, mark the different pathways.

Walking around the area, it was clear to me that the founder and organiser, Mandla Mentoor, is a much loved figure. He began this project in the backyard of his Soweto home in 1990, determined to raise environmental awareness and address the community needs of poverty and pollution by turning waste into an economic asset. The project soon expanded to include Children Loving Nature, an after-school programme of dance, drama and environmental education. Now, some one hundred people are directly involved in the Soweto Mountain of Hope on a regular basis, and thousands more have taken part in events that it organises, including football matches and clean-up days all over Soweto. Mentoor talks enthusiastically about a number of future plans, such as establishing eco-cultural tours of the township.

Mentoor describes himself as a ‘born activist’, and claims that the frontline of struggle is the environment: