Zulfah Tyman, Lentegeur
I love our local newspaper the Plainsman and always look forward to each new week’s edition, and imagine my excitement when I read that we may write about the 40th anniversary of Mitchell’s Plain.
We moved to Mitchell’s Plain when I was only thee years old. I remember seeing huge, white sand dunes and many wild bushes, and a really underdeveloped place with hardly any proper streets, parks or other basic facilities.
My mother would always take me with her to visit many local places over weekends, especially to the then newly built Town Centre, our local Westridge swimming pool with crystal-clear water and our local beach, with absolutely no developments like our modern beaches today.
My fondest memory is playing freely without a care in the world, in our new built local park, right opposite our house, and it’s amazing how fortunate I am to still be in contact with many of the friends that I met on that very playground.
Our primary and secondary school teachers were always immaculately dressed and very professional and I am still grateful for the many lessons I have learnt from all of them – lessons I am able to apply in my personal life today.
Over the years I have seen our community transformed in so many ways and it has really become a business hub to many small businesses. Today, we have Westgate and Liberty Promenade malls, a few new police stations, a brand-new state hospital, local sporting facilities, many local social clubs and many local entrepreneurs who opened their own businesses (from butcheries to bakeries, hair salons and medical practitioners, to name a few), which all certainly have the full support of the local community.
I have also noticed so many women drivers (power to women doing it for themselves) with stunning cars on our roads. We have so many facilities that we no longer need to travel to other places to get anything, as everything is right on our doorstep. We have delectable food outlets and many other special places with excellent treats. We are one tourist destination for sure.
Many of our people are professionals who occupy various levels within the corporate world, who still enjoy coming home to Mitchell’s Plain after a long day’s work, due to the great culture and people. Our children play freely and our neighbours are very caring. We are all about people.
I still live in Mitchell’s Plain and will never move, as I believe in the spirit of Ubuntu, that is still very much alive in our community. We have a rich heritage and a colourful community, filled with great people and talent. We should be very proud of everything and everyone, as we have come very far in this 40 years. Viva, Mitchell’s Plain, Viva!