Let’s not be naive, our country is facing its biggest challenge in a century. Covid was no one’s choice and that makes dealing with it so much more difficult. It robbed us of our freedoms. The ability to see someone smile, the chance to hold hands and our longing for a hug from the ones we love. Some of us have lost our livelihoods and the ability to know what is going to happen 6 months from now remains at best,a guess. The narrative of hopelessness is rife and we cannot scroll on our phones without being confronted by it every day. 

Linden is an incredible suburb. The Whippet has called it home for nearly a decade. It’s people are proud South Africans, open in their thinking, passionate about their families and they are proud to call themselves Lindenites. Every street has a street captain, we look after each other, your family’s safety is my family’s safety. SA’s best schools welcome young minds every morning and our trees tell the story of a suburb with nearly ninety years of precious memories. 

Linden, has a proud farming history – our suburb used to be one of the biggest export regions of peaches to the United Kingdom. Some of these trees stand strong in back gardens as new young South Africans climb their branches. This is why we choose orange to represent our suburb – orange talks to life, it talks to our heritage and it celebrates a suburb with nearly a century of resilience and hope. 

Some of you may have seen that the trees in front of our storeand nearly 50 other trees in front of Hoërskool Linden, Laerskool Louw Geldenhuys and Pinnacle College Linden boasts their orange jerseys. The youth have no option but to look at the future with HOPE. #LindenHOPE is an invite to every Lindenite to dress their trees in orange, to plant new trees as a sign of HOPE and to join us in our call for a better future. We hope that this can spark other suburbs to do the same. 

People ask so what can I do? 

Support Local, dress your trees, plant a new tree and share this message of HOPE on every platform you can – This country is in serious need of Heroes. 

Covid is NOT our future. WE are our future. HOPE is our future. 

Team Whippet, Team Hoërskool Linden, Team Pinnacle College Linden and Team Laerskool Louw Geldenhuys.