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TUESDAY 2 February 2021 | Tel: 021 910 6500 | Email: post@peoplespost.co.za | Website: www.peoplespost.co.za
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GLENCAIRN
Throwing the book at crime Mieka Gordon and Shayla Panayiotiou sell books to raise funds for the Glencairn Heights Neighbourhood Watch’s cameras. PHOTO: RACINE EDWARDES
RACINE EDWARDES RACINE.EDWARDES@MEDIA24.COM @RAEEDWARDES
F
or the past three years, Glencairn resident Mieka Gordon has been selling second hand books to raise funds for the improvement of security in the area. And now her efforts are being shared by Fish Hoek High School Grade 12 learner Shayla Panayiotiou. An avid reader, Mieka (85) has lived in Glencairn Heights for the past 23 years. While the community is usually quite safe, it did experience a spate of home robberies along the firebreak on the mountainside about three years ago, prompting the local neighbourhood watch’s decision to improve security. “The Glencairn Heights Neighbourhood Watch (GCH NHWatch) has been raising funds in various ways for the camera network and maintenance service of cameras since 2016,” explains Jenny Goldhawk-Smith, the watch’s co-ordinator. Gordon says while attending a watch meeting some years ago, she realised
she could assist. “As I was sitting there, I thought there’s one way I can help them and that’s by getting books from people and selling them.” Since then, books have been donated to the neighbourhood watch and Gordon has been hosting a book sale outside Glencairn KwikSpar on Friday and Saturday mornings. Since starting up the book stall again after the initial lockdown, however, she now only sells books on Saturday mornings; which usually range from R5 to R35. “The Glencairn Heights Dedicated CIS patrol vehicle officers graciously assist Mieke to unpack and pack up her books after every sale. The CIS dedicated patrol vehicle has been working together with the neighbourhood watch since August 2018,” says Goldhawk-Smith. She adds that the book sales have been a great source of funds. “Residents have donated of their finances, equipment and time in helping to grow this vision, but one of the most successful fundraiser’s has been the generous donation of books from the residents in Glencairn Heights to Mieka’s garage.” The 12 cameras which monitor the commu-
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Shayla, who is heading into her final year of secondary school, has hosted three book sales at the monthly Phoenix Market in Glencairn. Admittedly, selling books isn’t a normal weekend activity for a 17-year-old, but she says: “I really like to help out the neighbourhood watch; raising funds for the security cameras and upgrades, and I also just love to read in my spare time. So by selling these books, I can read while helping to raise money.” Reading is her number one hobby currently – she even tackled a book a day over the December and January holiday. She hopes to go into publishing as a career. Shayla says her books retail in the range of R10 to R50 and are perfect for young readers. “Books sell well. The last time we had up to 50 or 60 sales. They’re all quite cheap so it’s nice, because as a reader you always go to the bookstores and they’re around R200.” Goldhawk-Smith says the watch is excited to have Shayla on board. She adds: “I hope we can get even more volunteers to sell books for the GCH NHWatch. It’s great to see young people getting involved.”
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nity, eight of which were installed in 2020, have been placed periodically since the start of the fundraising efforts. Goldhawk-Smith says each and every contribution made a difference. Gordon’s fundraisers have yielded R35 000 towards the camera project. “She has been dedicated and committed to the vision of growing the camera project and towards making the community a safer place,” says Goldhawk-Smith. Gordon says selling books was an obvious choice for her as she has always been a lover of books. And over the three years of selling books, she has gained the ability to tell which type of books a reader may enjoy. “I deal with the public and I’ve been reading for a long time, so by now I can kind of tell what people read – especially the older people,” she says, adding: “Most of the books I’ve got are non-fiction; I like non-fiction.” Andy McNabb books, she says, are usually read by the young man in his 20s, “because of the skiet, skop en donder” type of action portrayed in the books. If you read Nora Roberts, Gordon says, you are probably a woman between 19 and 22, and possibly a young housewife.
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