Garden of Remembrance restored to former glory

Fish Hoek’s Garden of Remembrance has been restored to its former glory thanks to a former homeless couple.

Glen and Kyleigh Rousseau who lived in Bergvliet came to Fish Hoek in February after they fell on hard times during the Covid-19 pandemic and became homeless.

Kyleigh restored and sold fine china and Glen was a builder.

The couple had lost their daughter in a car accident a few years ago and Kyleigh said they were traumatised by her death and struggled to cope when the pandemic hit.

Glen had received two big contracts in February 2020 but could not work due to lockdown.

The couple battled through the pandemic selling what they could to stay afloat but at the beginning of 2022, they realised they had lost everything and came to Fish Hoek where they spent five months on the Post Office’s stairs.

In April, Glen was given the opportunity to take over the care of the Garden of Remembrance from its former carer which had been employed through the City’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).

Kyleigh said she helped him in the garden so they could stay together.

The garden, which was established in 1964, has in recent years become neglected and home to vagrants and drug dealers.

In 1964, the Battledress Shellhole of the Memorable Order of Tin Hats (MOTHS) asked the then municipality permission to erect a cairn to commemorate the Fish Hoek men who died during WWII.

According to Moths Commander Ricky De Wet, the municipality made a portion of the Outspan on Kommetjie Road, a place where oxen pulling ox wagons could be released overnight from the wagon, available for the cairn and arranged for the landscaping of the eastern end of the Outspan and also the building of the stone wall.

The couple had cleaned out the garden beds and planted new plants and seeds. Some were donated by the community and some Kyleigh bought herself.

The cairn door has been sanded and repainted and the stone benches have been cleaned. Colourful garden creatures painted by Kyleigh decorate the garden beds and she feeds the pigeons and the squirrels daily.

She said the garden was in a “terrible state” when she and Glen first started working there. “We knew nothing about gardening but the Lord guided us and it became a place of peace for us every day,” she said.

The first week, she said, they removed about 30 blue plastic bags of rubbish.

In September, Glen had a heart bypass and is recovering in Groote Schuur hospital following some complications. Kyleigh has been working alone in the garden for the past seven weeks.

“He is currently out of danger,” she said.

In July, the couple moved to The Net on Kommetjie Road, a second-phase shelter that helps rehabilitate the homeless.

“If it wasn’t for The Net I don’t know what would have happened to us,” Kyleigh said.

When Glen’s EPWP contract came to an end in June, local businesses with the help of the community, and The Net, decided to raise funds to keep the couple employed.

Fish Hoek Valley Ratepayers’ and Resident’s Association (FHVRRA) also contributed to the fund.

Collaborate, a business opposite the garden, has a donation jar in the shop and stores the couple’s garden tools for them.

Collaborate employee Conway Lotter said the garden has become a place of peace since Kyleigh and Glen started working there and it is of benefit to the community and homeowners around the garden to keep it clean.

The Net founder Carolyn Axmann said The Net pays the shortfall of the couple's salary which is not raised by the community.

“It has been such a pleasure to see the transformation of the garden and to see Glen and Kyleigh work in the garden with such dedication and willingness,” Ms Axmann said.

FHVRRA chairman Brian Youngblood said the association often receive complaints about the filth in the Garden of Remembrance and the problem with street people there.

“We try to spread what little funds we have around the community,” he said.

He said the association wanted to encourage the upkeep of the garden and that is why it had donated towards the cause.

Mr De Wet said the couple had been doing great work in the garden especially after there had been some vandalism of the electrical cables of the eternal light in the cairn. It is yet to be repaired.

He said the garden will be in a good condition for the annual Remembrance parade that will take place on Sunday November 6 from Second Avenue at 4.30pm.

Mayoral Committee member for community services and health, Patricia van der Ross, said the City’s Recreation and Parks Department’s maintenance schedule for the Garden of Remembrance at Fish Hoek provide litter cleaning once a week, scheduled mowing and tree trimming when required.

“The City values the support of community engagement in public parks, and thanks those involved for their service,” she said.