It all started in 2019, when he decided to rehabilitate the pedestrian of Viana, in the area of Bela Vista.
According to Novo Jornal, the lack of steps caused people to stumble, putting the safety of citizens at risk. Upon noticing how unsafe the area was, Zeferino Fernandes decided to rehabilitate it.
To carry out his plan, Zeferino Fernandes, who is an engineer by profession, asked some friends for help, who ended up rolling up their sleeves and putting in the missing steps.
Some time later, the person in charge decided to go back to the projects and cover up some of the potholes that dotted several roads in the capital.
While passing through Talatona, the former motocross champion crashed his car into a hole, having seen that the same was happening to other drivers.
"I looked at the hole and said to myself that this can't go on like this," he told Novo Jornal.
The solidarity work began to multiply and, in December 2019, caught the attention of Vice President Bornito de Sousa.
"The vice-president of the Republic just told me that my name reached the Presidential Palace and that he called me to meet me. He asked me why I was never called by the administrations or the Provincial Government of Luanda. I answered that I didn't know, since I had already sent several letters asking for support and I was never received," he elucidated.
He also made it known that he recently asked for support to the former governor of Luanda, Joana Lina, but "unfortunately she did not respond".
Owner of a locksmith shop, Zeferino Fernandes has already recovered voluntarily 16 pedestrian areas in the capital. As for future projects, the responsible announced that in a month's time he intends, with his own funds, to recover the pedestrian area at the entrance of Sequela Centrality, in the municipality of Cacuaco.
That area has been damaged for about a year, after an accident between two trucks. The damage was never repaired due to alleged lack of funds, writes Novo Jornal.
"That pedestrian is off the ground, it is necessary to rent a crane to do the work because there are many run-ins," he said, adding that he has been requesting support from the state for two years, but has never had it.
About the material used, the former motocross champion says that friends help him: "I have friends that collect iron material and they know that I do this activity, sometimes they give me irons for this purpose".
Zeferino Fernandes entered the motocross universe at the age of 20 and, seven years later, won his first title as champion. Already in 2010, he won his first international prize and in 2017 he stopped practicing the sport, now dedicating himself to road and pedestrian rehabilitation.
