News24 | This man started with one rake and a purpose. Now his park cleanups have gone viral

• Peterson Sebati, a 22-year-old from Potchefstroom, turned his concern into action, transforming his littered local park into a clean public space.
• He founded Retsa Tsela, which cleans and transforms community spaces, and this month, his efforts went viral.
• Project 44, its current initiative, plans to restore 44 suburbs in Potchefstroom and expand to neighbouring cities.

When Peterson Sebati, a young man from Potchefstroom, saw his neighbourhood park, Aksie Local Park, filled with garbage, he didn’t wait for help; he picked up a rake.

What started as a solo act of care has grown into a youth-led movement restoring parks, schools, and public spaces across the town.

And this month, his hard work went viral, being seen over a million times after being covered by popular content creator Cool Story Bru.

It all started in February this year, while Sebati was on his way to a meeting in his neighbourhood.

“I was disturbed by this local park that was filled with garbage,” Sebati recalled. “Then I heard a radio discussion about illegal dumping in KZN. A woman from Potchefstroom called in, crying about how the town had become filthy. That’s where it all began.”

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He began picking up trash and raking dirt on his own, without realising that the community would eventually step in to support him.

“A great number of young people came together, trying to restore our park to its former glory. That’s when the movement began, with young people hoping to see a better Potchefstroom, hoping to see our parks and schools restored.”

Today, Sebati is the founder of Retsa Tsela, which means “we are making a way”. The NGO seeks to restore underdeveloped communities through cleaning and rehabilitating public spaces, and countering illegal dumping.

When Sebati first launched Retsa Tsela, he funded it from his own pocket, buying refuse bags and safety gloves.

“I began sharing what we do on social media, and soon, people took notice. Strangers started donating money to help us buy the tools we needed, while local community members also chipped in to support our initiative,” he said.

Challenges, demotivation, and keeping at it

At the beginning though, there were challenges, which would sometimes demotivate him.

“After we cleaned a site, some people would come back and throw trash there again, trying to discourage us,” Sebati said.

Still, the work continued, as he saw glimmers of hope in his town, ignited by something as simple as a clean park.

“Seeing children playing safely there instead of in the streets keeps me going,” Sebati said.

So far, the team has cleaned more than five public spaces, including parks.

The community has felt the transformation.

“Young people now host soccer training at the parks we cleaned,” he said. “There’s a new movement of doing things that brings community development.”

Sebati said cleaning a park can take up to a week, depending on the waste and how big the park is.

“Sometimes we must wait for a tractor to help remove garbage at the pond. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it,” he said.

Cleaner spaces, healthier lives and Project 44

He believes the cleanups do more than beautify neighbourhoods; they improve lives.

“People told me they face health problems because of the garbage near their yards. Cleaning up helps reduce respiratory infections. It’s not just about cleaning public spaces but also about saving people’s lives.”

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The movement operates under the name Project 44, with an ambitious goal.

“We are hoping to go into 44 suburbs in Potchefstroom and restore them,” he said. “Once that’s done, we want to expand to neighbouring cities like Rustenburg, Klerksdorp, Sannieshof, and Mahikeng, formerly known as Mafikeng – and one day even to Johannesburg.”

The most rewarding moment came when their story went viral this month.

“A few days ago, a man from Cool Story Bru covered our story. It went viral in South Africa,” he said.

“Organisations and departments started reaching out, asking how they can help. That was our breakthrough.”

His proudest moment, however, was restoring Promosa Primary School in Potchefstroom.

Sebati said:

The local community has embraced the initiative.

“There’s a great sense of accountability now. If someone throws trash, community members come out and say, ‘You’re going to pick that up.’ That’s when I saw real change – people taking ownership of what belongs to them,” he said.

A dream for Africa 

At just 22 years old, the young founder dreams of taking the movement beyond South Africa.

“My greatest dream is to see this movement spread throughout Africa. I want to see branches of this organisation in different provinces, working hand in hand with the government to rebuild and restore the continent, starting here at home.”

Today, Sebati leads a team of 10 volunteers, and the public can continue to support the initiative through his BackaBuddy campaign.

If you have an inspiring story to tell, email feelgood@news24.com.