mandela and machel
DESCRIPTION
Mandela and Machel in the Globe MagazineTRANSCRIPT
NelsonMandela&GraçaMachel
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NOMINATED
Graça Machel and Nelson Mandela are married. Theyare the best friends of the children of Mozambique
and South Africa. They speak out against theviolation of children's rights and both runorganisations that promote the rights of thechild and help children in need.
Nelson Mandela
Graça Machel nevermet her father; hedied three weeks
before she was born. SoGraça was given themiddle name Despidida,which means ‘farewell’in Portuguese. The fami-ly was poor – evenbefore her father died –and Graça’s mother hadto provide for sevenchildren: Graça and hersix brothers.
Before he died, herfather said that hisunborn child was to goto school. So whenGraça was seven she
started the first grade inInhambane. Her teacherwas called Ruth and wasa missionary from theUSA. All the childrenwere afraid of her anddidn’t dare speak to her– with one exception:little Graça! She wrote aletter to Ruth thankingher for everything she’dlearnt.
“We couldn’t believeour eyes when Graçastood up, handed theletter to the teacher andsaid that she loved her.That was such a bravething to do!” says
Nelson Mandela is being nominated for the WCPRC 2005 for his lifelongstruggle to free the children of South Africa from apartheid and the immensesupport he gives to their rights. After 27 years in prison he became the firstdemocratically elected president of South Africa, a country where children ofall colours today enjoy equal rights for the first time.
Nelson continues to help South Africa’s children and demands respect fortheir rights. He runs his own children’s foundation, the Nelson MandelaChildren’s Fund (NMCF), which helps children whose parents have died ofAIDS, street children, disabled children and poor children. As president hedonated half his salary to poor children and when he received the NobelPeace Prize he gave part of the prize money to help street children. Nelson notonly wants all children to feel loved, he also wants to give them a better future.That’s why he also gives children the chance to develop their talents.
Why Nelson Mandela is being nominated:
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& Graça Machel
PHOTO: LOUISE GUBB
Florentina Litsur, whowas in the same class asGraça.
Girls’ rightsGraça won a scholarshipto study in Maputo. OnSundays when she wentto church, Graça thoughtthat it was unfair thatonly boys could becomechairman of the churchyouth group.
“She stood up in churchand demanded equal rightsfor girls. No one elsewould ever have daredto,” says Manuel Fifteen.
Today, boys and girlshave equal rights inMozambique, and girlscan be chairperson of thechurch group. Manuel saysthis is all thanks to Graça.
When Graça was grow-ing up, Mozambique wasstill a Portuguese colony
and nearly all the Africanswere poor. This wasunfair too, thoughtGraça, who beganfighting for the coun-try’s freedom. ThePortuguese wantedto throw her in jailbut she escaped toTanzania.
On a secret mis-sion in northernMozambiqueshe metSamoraMachel, whowas the leader ofthe liberationfront. They gotmarried in 1975,the same year thatMozambique gainedits independence.
Children at warSamora becameMozambique’s president
Graça Machel is being nominated for the WCPRC 2005 for her long andcourageous struggle for children’s rights, mainly in Mozambique. She hasfought for the rights of girls to go to school. When she was Minister ofEducation, the number of schoolchildren rose by 80%. Today, 45% of allschoolchildren are girls, but Graça’s goal is to have as many girls as boys inschools. In rural regions, most girls have to work and are married off at an earlyage. Graça therefore started a theatre group to teach parents the importanceof education for girls. She has had schools built where there were none or toofew. After the floods of 2000 Graça and her FDC organisation gave studentsnew schoolbooks and re-housed families in new homes. Graça and the FDCalso fight against all forms of violence and abuse against children. Inter-nationally Graça has worked to help child victims of war and to stop the trafficking of children.
Why Graça Machel is being nominated:
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➼ and Graça was madeMinister of Education.Many children were able tostart school. But soon a newwar erupted. Samora died ina mysterious plane crash in1986. Graça suspects thatthe apartheid regime ofSouth Africa was behind it.
A couple of years later,Graça took a job at the UNand told the world about theplight of children affectedby war. Most of all she wanted to help child soldiersand children that had beeninjured by landmines.
Many people in the UN
were impressed by Graça’scourage. When it came tochildren’s rights she wouldstand up to anyone! Herhard work paid off. As soonas a peace treaty was signedin Mozambique, the UNbegan clearing the mines.They’ve almost all beencleared now and child casu-alties are on the decline.
Ten years ago Graça helpedfound the FDC, an organisa-tion in Mozambique that aimsto protect children againstlife-threatening diseases.
“We buy vaccines andmake sure that children
don’t die of preventable ill-nesses,” she says.
Graça also helps childrenwho are too poor to go toschool.
“I know exactly what it’slike. I was just as poor whenI grew up,” says Graça.
Thanks to her efforts, halfthe children in Mozam-bique’s schools will soon begirls. Before, many parentscould only afford to sendtheir sons to school. The girlshad to stay at home and work.
Salary to the children Graça Machel married
Nelson Mandela on his 80thbirthday. It was a perfectmatch; they both love chil-dren and have fought forchildren’s rights for most oftheir lives.
Nelson grew up in povertytoo. His father died and hewent to live with his unclewho wanted to marry himoff to one of the village girls.
But Nelson had otherplans. He ran away to thebig city of Johannesburg andit was there that he cameinto contact with apartheid,which means ‘apartness’.Blacks were separated from
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PHOTO: LOUISE GUBB
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the whites and they weretreated badly and unfairly.Nelson hated injustice andcould not accept the waythat people were treated dif-ferently because of thecolour of their skin.
He didn’t want his chil-dren – or any South Africanchildren – to grow up withapartheid. He said that hewas prepared to die to givethe children a better future.His struggle against apartheidand for the freedom of SouthAfrica’s children cost him 27years in prison.
Nelson was 72 when he
was released. But despitebeing so badly treated, hedid not want to take revengeon those responsible forapartheid. He wanted blacksand whites to live in harmo-ny and to build a betterfuture together.
On receiving the 1993Nobel Peace Prize, Nelsonsaid:
“South Africa’s childrenshall play in the open veldt,no longer tortured by hungeror disease or threatened withabuse. Children are ourgreatest treasure.”
Nelson Mandela became
president of South Africa in1994. He made sure that allthe unfair laws were abol-ished. Today, black andwhite children can be friendsand they all have equalrights.
But Nelson Mandela did-n’t stop there. As presidenthe donated half his salary topoor children and when hegot the Nobel Peace Prize hegave part of the prize moneyto help street children.
Today, Nelson has retiredand runs his own children’sfoundation, the NelsonMandela Children’s Fund
(NMCF), which helps chil-dren whose parents havedied of AIDS, street children,disabled children and poorchildren.
His dealings with childrenand young people giveNelson energy.
“Whenever I’m withvibrant young people, I feellike a recharged battery,” he says. �
Read more about Nelson’sexciting life in the picturestory on page 87.
PHOTO BY: GIACOMO PIROZZI / PICTURENET AFRICA
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“Graça Machel is the world’sbravest woman. She’s not afraidof anybody and always helps chil-dren – especially those in need,such as street children and singlemothers. I read in the newspaperthat Mandela is just as good.He’s helped South Africa a lot.” Faustino Quissico, 10, Maputo
Graça and
“Mama Graça has showedus the way forward. She’sproved that girls can doeverything boys can. She’shelped me become theperson I am today.” Anabela Nkalinga, 14, Chaukwe
“I love Mandela. We havethe same birthday. I oncesent him a birthday cardand asked him if he want-ed to be my extra dad.” Kefiloe Oliphant, 10, Soweto
“Mandela has proved thateverything’s possible. He wentfrom being a prisoner to presi-dent. He had a hard time athome and found himself a nicewife. His new wife GraçaMachel has done well to makehim so happy.” Ntando Mhlanga, 11, Soweto
“Graça Machel really loves chil-dren. She protects them fromAIDS and builds schools. She’salso got lovely clothes. Once shecame to our school. We sang forher and she was so happy shestarted dancing.” Lina Massaveé, 13, Changalane
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“Graça Machel loves children andwe love her. It’s great that she’smarried to Nelson Mandela. Theyalways help others in need. Nowthey can help each other if theyhave problems.” Ilda Rodrigues, 13, Maputo
“When Graça gotmarried to NelsonMandela in SouthAfrica I was wor-ried that she’dnever return toMozambique. Butshe didn’t forgetus and alwayscomes back to seehow we’re gettingon.” Guida Coutinho, 14,
Chaukwe
Mandela
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“Nelson Mandela has agood heart. He helps dis-abled children and hasshown that people canimprove themselves. Hewas in prison for 27years, but he didn’t wantrevenge. He wantedpeace and to show thatblack and white peoplecan live in harmony.Awesome!” Phumeza Qwasha, 14, function-
ally disabled, Alexandra
“For me NelsonMandela’s a hero. Healways thinks the best ofpeople and he trustschildren. He knows thatthey have talent and thatthey can succeed if onlythey get the chance.We’re lucky to have him.” Abae Selaocoe, 12, Sebokeng
“I wish Mama Graça andNelson Mandela goodluck. They’ve helped manychildren go to school.Mama Graça’s a real hero.She spreads happiness toeveryone!” John Zacksom, 9, Maputo
“Everything about Nelson Mandelais fantastic. I wish that I could wakeup one morning with the same kindheart as he has. Then I’d make thewhole world happy. I’m really proudof him.” Gabatshwane Gumede, 11, Letabong
“Mandela fought for our rightsand saved our country. It would’vebeen terrible for us if he hadn’t. IfI met him I’d say, “Pleased tomeet you – and thanks for ourfreedom!” Zanele Gama, 12, Soweto
“Graça Machel inspirespeople to be better.There’s a man in our vil-lage who’s following inher footsteps: he’sgoing to buy a TV foreveryone here towatch.” Leoildo Maeome, 14,
Chaukwe
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Lfriend in the after-noons when her hus-
band isn’t home. Both girlsare afraid of him. He getsvery angry whenever theytalk about school. He thinks
that girls should stay athome and do the housework.
Leoa’s worst nightmare isbeing married off to some-one. She’d much rather gothrough school so that shecan get a job. But Leoa’s par-
ents are poor and she wasafraid that they wouldaccept the man’s marriageproposal.
Leoa pleaded with her par-ents, telling them that all shewanted to do was go to sec-ondary school so she couldget a job. Leoa’s mothernever went to school and canneither read nor write andher father only went toschool for a few years; yetthey understood. Theyexplained to the man thatLeoa was far too young toget married.
Leoa breathed a sigh ofrelief. She felt free. And she’dbe able to stay on at school.
Graça Machel’s schoolsLeoa lives in the village ofMetuge in northernMozambique. As many of
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goes to Graça’s schAvoided arranged marriage
LeoaLeoa Abdul, 14Lives: In the village ofMetuge in northernMozambique.Worked as: A nanny whenI was seven, far from home.Chores: Fetch water, dothe cleaning, wash up, prepare breakfast, go toschool, work in the fieldsand do my homework. Worst nightmare: To bemarried against my will.Calls her school: GraçaMachel.Hero: Graça Machel.
One evening a man came to Leoa Abdul’shouse. She had never seen him before, but
she knew exactly what he wanted anyway. Twoyears before, a stranger had called at a friend’shouse and asked whether he could marry her.Her friend’s parents said yes, and so she wasmarried against her will.
“It was awful. She was only twelve. Now shehas a baby and her husband won’t let her go toschool,” says Leoa.
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Leoa always has plenty ofhousework to do.
Leoa usually visits her
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the parents in the region arepoor, very few girls over 12 were allowed to go toschool. When Graça Machelheard about this she decidedto build four new schools.This way no one could saythat the classrooms were toocrowded and that there wasonly space for boys.
Graça Machel grew up in a poor family. Without thehelp she’d received, she’dnever have been able to fin-ish school. She knows justhow it feels to face beingmarried off or to be forced togo to work. That is why she’sso keen to help Leoa and theother girls in Metuge.
But building new schools
wasn’t enough. Some of theparents were not convincedthat girls really had to get aneducation. So Graça starteda theatre group to performplays about how importantit is for girls to go to school.
For Leoa’s best friendJuliana Adolfo it made allthe difference in the world.She’d nagged her parents tolet her start school, but theysimply couldn’t afford it. Butafter they saw the play theychanged their minds, andJuliana’s dream became true.
Juliana and Leoa now goto school together every day.But they don’t call it going toschool, they call it going toGraça Machel, because
even though the schools inMetuge have names of theirown, that’s what they’re allknown as.
The pain insideLeoa almost never startedschool at all. When she wasseven she started working asa nanny for a family inPemba. Pembais also innorthernMozam-bique,which iswheretheyspeakMacao,Leoa’s language.
But soon the family movedto Maputo, taking Leoa withthem.
Leoa was really upset. Thefamily lived in a high-riseblock where there weremany children. But no onecould speak Macao andLeoa couldn’t understand aword they said.
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choolTen years ago, only a few girls in Metuge went to school. If you could have peekedinto a classroom you would probably have seen 40 students: 30 boys and 10 girls.What’s more, only half the girls, i.e. five, actually finished junior school.
If you look into the same classroom today, you’ll find about 23 boys and 17 girls.
Look at all the girls!
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Leoa and her best friend Juliana ontheir way to school.
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“The worst thing was that Iwas the only one who wasn’tallowed to start school. Theother children laughed at meand I used to think that thePortuguese language theyspoke to each other soundedso clever and sophisticated.They’d learnt it at school,”says Leoa.
Leoa cried almost continu-ally and it hurt her to see theother children run off withtheir schoolbooks undertheir arms. She asked thewoman she worked forwhether she too could startgoing to school:
”You’re here to look afterthe children, not to read
books,” answered thewoman.
When Leoa’s parentsfound out that the familyhad moved to Maputo, andhad taken Leoa with them,they arranged for her toreturn home to Metuge.Leoa’s mother said that shewould learn to read and
write. Leoa had never beenso happy!
“On the morning of myfirst day of school, I woke uplong before sunrise. Whenmy mum and dad got up, Iwas already dressed andstood in the doorway wait-ing with a book under myarm,” she chuckles.
Graça solves thehomeworkproblem
Many of the girls inMozambique work really
hard. Leoa gets up at five inthe morning to fetch water.Then she cleans the house,washes yesterday’s pots and– if there’s food – she makesbreakfast for the family. Afterthat she washes and goes toschool, which is over an houraway. On top of this, Leoahas to find time to help hermother in the field before shedoes her homework. Theboys don’t have to do anychores at home.
“After school they can dowhat they want. They usuallyplay football,” she says.
Sometimes the girls do somuch housework that theydon’t have time for home-work. As soon as they gethome, there’s some job todo. When they finally havetime for studying they’re sotired that they fall asleep overtheir schoolbooks.
Graça Machel solved theproblem. She built a youthcentre where girls could goafter school to do their home-work and take differentcourses. Today, Leoa and herfriend Juliana play footballand do drama.
“Graça Machel is my hero. She cares about usgirls and comes to visit the school to see howwe’re getting on. She does a great job – and Ihope she’ll carry on doing it. The best thing isthat she’s managed to explain to people why it’sso important that girls get an education. If it hadn’t been forher I might not even be ableto write my own name.” Leoa Abdul
Leoa and her younger sister Gilda, 12, help theirgranny peel the manioch for the evening meal.
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A poemToday Leoa and her friendJuliana are in the sixthgrade and can already speakfluent Portuguese. It soundsjust as clever and sophisti-cated as when the childrenin Maputo speak it! Leoalikes to borrow books ofpoetry from the public
library and two weeks agoshe wrote her very firstpoem – in Portuguese. It’sabout school and happychildren. For Leoa the bestsound in the world is theecho of her friends’ laughter.
But Leoa doesn’t thinkshe’ll become a poet. She’snot sure that you can make
a living from it. She wants ajob where she can earnmoney. Most of all shewants to be a technician.Not only so that she canhelp her family, but also
Tree-huggersgaloreHuge Baobab trees grow inLeoa’s village. They can growto be at least a thousandyears old. Some say that theBaobab trees have magicalproperties and that spiritslive inside them. That’s whyyou should never cut onedown or even snap off a twig.
There’s a Baobab treeclose to Leoa’s house.Because it’s so old, Leoathinks it has seen a lot ofthings. All the importantmeetings in the village areheld under the tree becausethe tree might rememberwhat’s been said, so no onecan ignore the decisions thatare taken.
How manytree-huggers?Win a prize T-shirt!Sometimes Leoa and herfriends just want to playunder the tree. Guess howmany of her friends ittakes to hug the Baobab’sthick trunk. We will draw100 winners from thosewho have given the correctanswer.
Answer in the form onwww.childrensworld.org or to [email protected],fax +46-159-10860 orChildren´s World, Box 150,647 24 Mariefred, Sweden.Enclose your name,address and age.
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It’s taken Sifa Made andRosinha José, both aged
12, several hours to maketheir face masks.
First they had to find adecent musiro tree. Thenthey cut off a big branchwhich they ground down to afine powder. Finally theymixed the powder with water,put the cream on their faces,where it’ll remain for twodays. It’s tough, but it´s worthit: when the girls finally rinseit off they have the softest
skin imaginable!Everyone will be really
impressed, except for head-master Carlos Nampava, thatis. He worries about thesecreams. Particularly if thegirls have rubbed them allover their bodies. This is asign that they’re coming ofage and will soon bemarried off.
To Carlos this just meansanother girl that has to dropout of school. No wonder hedislikes the facial cream somuch…
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No cream for the headmaster
➼ because she doesn’t want tobe a burden to anybody. Tomarry the man of yourchoice you have to be inde-pendent and have your ownmoney.
“I plan to marry a manwho’s nice and who I love,not the first person who hap-pens to knock on the door,”says Leoa.
But first she must finishschool. In Metuge there areno upper secondary schools;
when you finish the seventhgrade you have to move tothe city. And Leoa’s familycan’t afford it. But each yearGraça’s organisation, theFDC, awards five scholar-ships to the top girls in theseventh grade.
Leoa wants to get herhands on one of those schol-arships. She works hard andsometimes does her home-work while the others areasleep, just to make sure she
hasn’t missed anything. Shegets up at five every morningto go to school, or GraçaMachel, as Leoa and herfriends call it. �
Sifa and Rosinha must keep their musiro facial masks on for two days to get nice, smooth skin.
Powdered musiro isgood for the skin.
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One day Graça will come…José Louis Bila is 11 and has lived on thestreets of Maputo for so long he can’tremember how many years ago he ran awayfrom home. It all started when his parents gotdivorced and his father remarried.
“My new mother didn’t like me. She hit me nearlyevery day,” says José.
After José had been homeless for a while he wasaccepted into a home for street children. But it was even worse there; José was beaten even morefrequently and he ran away again. His friendsknow exactly what he’s talking about – they toohave run away from the same centre.
Today the six boys live by a wall which runs alongone of Maputo’s busiest streets. José has heardabout Graça Machel and about her kindness tochildren.
“I pray that she’ll pass by. If she does I’m sureshe’ll help us,” says José.
Fernando, José Louise and Alice are threechildren who have endured beatings andabuse. Graça Machel and her organisationFDC want to put a stop to it and areprotesting vigorously against violence and child abuse.
Once my teacher got soangry that he startedbeating my hands
with a stick,” says FernandoMachiane, 13, who lives inMaputo.
Fernando had been talk-ing to his classmate and theteacher flew into a rage. Hehit him relentlessly, eventu-ally missing his hands andstriking Fernando on thelower arm. It was extremelypainful. Fernando couldn’tmove his right hand andhad to go to hospital.
A doctor examined thearm and saw that it was
broken. When Fernandoreturned to school with hisarm in plaster, the teacherapologised. He said he had-n’t meant to hit him quite sohard. But Fernando is stillfrightened of him and can’twait for the day he leavesschool.
Fernando’s friends Helder,Rafael and Ernesto, who arein a parallel class, feel sorryfor Fernando. Their teacherdoesn’t hit them. She justyells, orders them out of theclassroom and gives themdetention. The boys consid-er this to be much more
acceptable. All four boys, however,
get beaten at home just forforgetting to do a chore, likewashing up, or if they acci-dentally break something.
“It’s stupid. Grown-upsonly have to tell us if we dosomething wrong. Theydon’t have to hit us to makeus understand,” saysFernando. His friends agree.
They wish that all teach-ers could take the anti-cor-poral punishment laws seri-ously and that there was alaw forbidding parents tohit them. �
Alice’s mother has a smallrestaurant in Maputo. Mostafternoons a man came in toeat. He was nice, thought Alice,and he always had time to talkto her. Sometimes he helpedher with her homework.
Alice therefore didn’t find itstrange when the man askedher to go for a walk with him.But the man had a much moresinister motive. He kidnappedAlice and took her toJohannesburg in South Africa,where she was made a slaveand was sold to other men.
Alice’s mother was besideherself with despair. She wentto Graça’s office and asked forhelp. Graça called the policeand demanded their help. Threemonths later, the man returnedto Maputo to kidnap more girls.
But the police werewaiting for him.
The man wasarrested and sen-tenced to prison and
Alice was reunit-ed with hermother.
Graçahelped save Alice
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Gildo ZefaniasChichongue, 14,wakes with a jolt. The
water, he thinks. The water’scoming! But the floor is dry.He sits up in bed and sighs. Itwas just the same old night-mare that he has almostevery night – even though itwas five years ago that hisvillage was flooded.
Back then, in February2000, it rained every day inMozambique until the riversburst their banks.Meanwhile tropical cycloneEline was approaching fromthe Indian Ocean, and soonthe houses and school inGildo’s village (Chaukwe)were under water.
“The waters came so sud-denly; we didn’t have time totake anything with us.Everyone panicked,” hesays.
There wasn’t room forGildo and his family in thecars that were evacuating
people from the vil-lage, so they hadto wadethrough thewater untilthey cameto a hill 25km awaythat wasstill abovewater. “Westayed on thehill for a monthbefore we daredreturn to the village,”says Gildo.
By then the water hadgone – and almost every-thing else too. The flood haddestroyed everything. Theschool, which was old andrundown, had collapsed andthe headmaster told the chil-dren to stay at home.
This was bad news forGildo. He was especiallyupset that his schoolbookshad been ruined.
“Everything had gone
wrong and I was afraid thatI’d never get the chance to goto school again,” he says.
But Gildo’s story has ahappy ending: GraçaMachel’s organisation builtfour new schools inChaukwe, and gave all the
children new schoolbooksand their own library.
Gildo agrees: the terribleflood really did have a happyending. �
Floods destroyedeverything
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Gildo’s school is one of four schools Graça Machel had builtin Chaukwe after the floods.
Carlitos weaves a rug for his new home.
Thanks for the house!Carlitos Sitoi, 13, was at home
alone when Chaukwe was hit byfloods. It was so awful that he’d rathernot think about it. Luckily he wassaved by a neighbour who came andtook him to safety on the back of hispick-up.
“I was so worried about my brothers
and my mother. Many people didn’tmake it and drowned,” he says.
But Carlitos’s family survived andCarlitos felt happy and sad at thesame time. His family was alive, butthe floods had taken their house.
They couldn’t afford to build a newhouse and Carlitos had to live in a
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Not so long ago,Changelane was aghost town. Nobody
lived there and the soil wasparched. But it hadn’talways been that way. Thewar had forced people to fleefrom the village and environ-mental damage had changedthe whole climate. When thesoil became too dry to culti-vate, the people cut down
the trees and made charcoalto sell in town. In the end,sand was all that remained.
When Salvador RaulBasket, 13, was born, thewar in Mozambique wascoming to an end, and hisparents, who’d been hidingin the mountains, decided toreturn to the village. Theywere worried. All the treeshad been chopped down andthe soil was too barren togrow anything. How wouldthey survive?
“There’s only one person
who you know won’t let youdown,” says Salvador, “andthat’s Graça Machel. Shewas the only one who couldhelp us.”
‘Mama Graça’, as the chil-dren in Changelane call her,planted trees in the villageand had a chicken farm builtwhere the parents were givenwork. When the other warrefugees heard about howwell things were going theywanted to come back too.
But there was a problem:the school was impossiblysmall, having only one class-room for 663 pupils. So theolder children went to aschool in a neighbouring vil-lage, but it was 14 km awayand the children didn’t come
home until ten at night.Those who weren’t able towalk so far had to stay athome.
Once again, Mama Graçacame to the children’s rescueand had five new schoolsbuilt for Salvador and hisfriends. �
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small tent made out of sticksand plastic bags. That washis home until last year whenGraça Machel had 206houses built for the poorestfamilies.
Carlitos and his mother gota two-room house and, as hisolder brothers had alreadymoved out, Carlitos now hadhis very own room.
“We’re so happy,” says hismother, hugging Carlitos,who’s busy weaving a rug forhis new room.
“Mama Graça never lets you down!”
Salvador Raul Basket.
Houses Graça had built forthose whose homes weredestroyed by the floods.
Ready to throw the home-made ball.
A hit! The yard at one of the schools Graça Machel had built for the children ofChangelane.
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My name is Peliswa Gzazaand I am 12 years old. I livein Khayelitsha, near CapeTown in South Africa.
My mother says that thesedays HIV/AIDS is the newapartheid. I did not under-stand what she meant, so Iasked her and my Gogo(granny) to explain this tome. It became a very longstory. You see, I do not feelapartheid in my life. There isnothing I cannot do justbecause I am black.
MY GRANNY’S STORYGogo says she came to CapeTown a long time ago. Shecame from the Transkei, apoor “homeland”, whichwas what the apartheidgovernment called the areas
where they forced the blackpeople to live. In those daysall black people had to carrypasses if they left the “home-land”. This pass gave thempermission to move aroundin white people’s areas. MyGogo did not have this pass,she just took a bus to CapeTown and found work witha white Madam. This is whatGogo told me:
“Every morning I left thetownship at six o’clock, because after eight theinspectors checked every-body’s passes on the bus.If you did not have a pass,they would beat you and putyou in prison. Then you’dhave to go back to theTranskei to starve.
“During the weekends, I
never went out because I wastoo afraid to get caught.”
Like a dog“One day, I saw the pass in-spector outside in the street,going around checking themaids’ passes. I phoned myMadam. She told me to hideaway in the cupboard untilshe got there. Then I heard
Racism by lawThere is and always hasbeen racism throughoutthe world. But in SouthAfrica, during the last century, racism became away of life. Here, in 1948,racism was actually legali-sed and named apartheid.
ApartheidApartheid means “seperateness” or “beingapart” in Afrikaans. Blacksand whites were keptseparate from each other.Apartheid was racism bylaw and the government,the laws and the courtssupported racism.
Nelson Mandela’s greatest gift to South Africa’schildren is his long struggle for their freedomand equal rights. This struggle cost him 27 yearsin prison.
Peliswa’s story tells us how it was during apart-heid in South Africa. Black children were treatedbadly, went to poor and ill-equipped schools andhad to live separated from their parents.
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Forbidden familiesIt was illegal for black and whitecouples to marry. If a black andwhite couple had a baby, the babywas called a "coloured" and hadto live with his or her black parent.If the police found the parentsliving together, they were chargedand sometimes jailed.
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Poor separate schoolsThe schools in the black areas were very poor.Children had to share small desks and, often,more than sixty children crowded into one roomor sat under trees. Black children were not allowed in white children´s schools. The blackschools were poorly equipped and had a separatecurriculum that prepared them for practical workas labourers for the white people. In 1975 thegovernment spent 42 rand per black student and 644 rand (15 times asmuch) per white student.
her telling the inspector thatthere was only a dog inside.
“This is how it was duringthose days. We black maidswere the white people’s dogs.We carried their babies onour backs and raised them,while our babies had to staybehind in the “homeland”.”
MY MOTHER’S STORYMy mother grew up in theTranskei with my Gogo’smother, my great grandmot-her. She died while Gogo wasworking for the white peopleand then my mother stayedwith neighbours. She onlysaw Gogo at Christmas.Then she brought my motherold clothes from the white
children she looked after.This is my mother´s storyfrom when she was a littlegirl in the Transkei:
“I did not get close to mymother in the way that youare close to me. I missed herand when my own Gogodied I was just like an orp-han. I knew that my motherwas looking after the whitechildren far away from me.Then, when I was elevenyears old, I went to live inthe squatter camp with her.
“One day, I went with herto work to help her polish theMadam’s silver orna-ments. When wegot to
Mowbray, the train stationin the white people’s place, Isaw signs everywhere thatsaid: ‘Whites Only’, onbuses, doors, shops, benchesand all kinds of places. It wasso strange to me that whitepeople did not want us blacksto sit on their benches. Mymother said that we shouldnever disobey these signsbecause the police or thewhite people will beat us.My mother also forbade meto drink from any of the cupsin the kitchen. She said thatshe would be fired. Instead Idrank water from a jam tin
that my mother clea-ned for me.”
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eatest gift to the childrenAND EQUAL RIGHTS
A young boy working hard in the field in one of the areas (”homelands”) where the blackswere forced to live. However, he was not allowed to move around freely in the areas designated for whites.
My Gogo
Somlayi
My motherNomonde
Illegal homesSouth Africa was divided into black andwhite areas. Millions of black children and their families had to leave their homes in"white" areas and go and live in the "black"areas. Here there were no proper schools, hospitals or jobs. The children were left withfamily members while their parents went tofind work in the white people´s homes, farmsand factories. Many children only saw theirparents at Christmas.
My cousinBabalwa
Me, Pelizwa
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Angry teenagerIt was during this time thatmy mother first heard aboutNelson Mandela. She saw aphotograph of people fallingout of the hostels for blackmen who worked in the gold
mines. Gogo toldher that it was
because the poli-ce came to beatthe men up
because theyprotested
against the apartheid passlaws. The men jumped out ofthe windows to escape. Gogosaid that my grandfatherworked in the mines and thiswas why we never saw him.
These mine hostels were likea prison for slaves. Gogosaid that Mandela was thechairperson of the anti-apartheid organisation thatorganised these protests.
My mother told me thatshe grew up feeling all theseterrible things that apartheiddid to children, so when shebecame a teenager, she wasvery angry. In 1976, she andthousands of other childrenprotested against black
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Child labour Tens of thousands ofchildren became labourers on farms or in factories. They gotlittle food, were badlypaid and never attended school.
No pass meant jailBlack parents had to carry a passport – which they called a Dompas, meaning “a stupid pass” – when theyworked in the white areas. If blacks were found withoutthis pass, they would be jailed or sent back to their“black” area, without work.
There was great poverty in the ”black” areas, while in the ”white” areas there were finehouses with tap water and toilets, cars and good transport, plenty of food and other commodities, decent schools and recreational facilities.
Nelson Mandela shows his”passport”. The blacks inSouth Africa were forced tocarry ”passports” when theywere in areas designated forwhites.
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education. Their schoolswere very poor, overcrowdedand they were forced to learnin Afrikaans, the white peo-ple’s language.
“We made petrol bombs,”my mother tells me, “Wewere so angry that we deci-ded to fight with everythingwe had to stop this apartheid.Early on the morning of June16th 1976, my friends and Ihuddled together behind ourshack and made bombs fromsand, petrol, matchsticks anda piece of cloth that we putinto a 750 ml coke bottle.”
MY COUSIN´S STORYMy cousin Babalwa is mucholder than me. Her motherwas a member of the ANCand often left them alone athome to go to underground
Petty ApartheidA law dating from 1953made it illegal for blackchildren and their parents to use buses, park benches,public toilets, hotels, shopentrances and many otherservices designated exclusi-vely for white people. Thesigns said “White Only”.
Child labourers spray the field without any protectionfor themselves against the pesticides.
Mandela burns his”passport” as a protest.
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The white girl inthe picture wasallowed to sit onthe bench, buther black nannywas not.
Parents jailedThe black parents in South Africawere angry at the unjust treatment.They found it impossible to supporttheir children properly. There werefew hospitals in the black areas forchildren who fell ill; schools werebad, housing was poor and therewere no recreational facilities for thechildren. Parents organised them-selves into anti-apartheid groupsand protested against the apartheidlaws. Thousand of children lost their parents, who were killed or jailed for protesting.
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Children jailedThousands of childrenended up on the streetsbecause they had nohomes. They formedstreet gangs and created families withoutadults. In desperationthey began to steal foodand were then jailed fortheft.
Beach only for whites.
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meetings, because the ANCwas banned. Babalwa tells:
“When she went toJohannesburg for a meetingshe told us not to open thedoor to anyone. We were sooften afraid then, because weknew how many people justdisappeared because thepolice took them. What ifthey came and asked us wheremy mother was? If we didnot tell them, would they putus in jail? We knew so many
children who had been bea-ten and thrown in jail whenthey did not do what thepolice wanted them to do.
“My friend Thanzi’s mot-her did not come back fromthat underground conference.
They said shewas in prison.We never heardfrom her againafter that, so myfriend came to
stay with our
family. My mother said shewas just like another child inthe house and that we had tosupport her as she had losther mother. She said thatapartheid had made manychildren into orphans.”
The Mandela trickBabalwa loves to tell thisstory:
“I remember one day in1981, when I was six yearsold and still in crèche. I must
Exiled parentsThe black people’s politicalorganisations, includingMandela´s ANC, were banned.Hundreds of black parents fledthe country and thousandswere jailed. Many adults had tolive on the run in order to esca-pe the police. Consequentlythousands of children were leftin the care of grandmothers,while their parents foughtagainst apartheid.
Often there were 60 studentsin each classroom in theschools for black children.The government spent 15times as much money educa-ting a white child than it dida black child.
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School protestsOn 16 June 1976, black studentsprotested against apartheideducation. Police responded withteargas and live bullets. 13 year-old Hector Pieterson was shotdead. Today, 16 June is a publicholiday in South Africa; it honoursall young people who lost theirlives in the struggle against apart-heid.
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have been influenced by mygranny’s political activities,because one morning werefused to eat. The teachersaid: ‘Why are you noteating?’ We said: ‘We’re onstrike because Mandela isnot free and we wantMandela. That’s why we arerioting.’ And then we dancedand sang the freedom songswe learnt on the streets. Theteacher shook her head.Then she grabbed an oldman who was passing by onthe street, brought him inand said: ‘This is Mandela.’We all cheered and ate. Onlywhen I was nine years olddid I realise that she hadtricked us and that Mandelawas still in jail.”
MY STORYI did not riot or hide away orlose my mother in apartheid.By the time I was born, Man-dela was released and theANC was unbanned. I grewup to enjoy the freedom myparents had fought for.
The new apartheidSo why does my mother say
HIV/AIDS is the new apart-heid? I wrote it all down sothat everyone can read it:
AIDS make children into orp-hans because their parents die.AIDS makes us afraid, becauseour family and friends get sickand may die.AIDS makes us poor, becausethe breadwinners in our fami-lies pass away.
AIDS makes us strong becausewe have to stand together andfight it.AIDS brings us together,because we have to supportour sick people.AIDS teaches us how to take care of our sick familymembers.
When I was seven, my brotherbecame ill with HIV/AIDS.
My mother was a domesticworker and had to go towork every day. It was mewho gave my brother medi-cine and food. Every night I told my mother everythingabout his health.
Now I am a member of‘Rise and Shine’, which westarted to support otherchildren who are infected oraffected by AIDS.
Nelson Mandela is also myhero because of HIV/AIDS.He speaks up for childrenand families who are affectedby the virus and because heis so famous, everyone lis-tens when he talks.
Hector Pieterson posthumously received The World’s Children’s Honorary Award in year 2000.
Children who have been arrested for their protests against apartheid.
A friend carries away thedead Hector Pieterson.Alongside runs Hector’s sister Antoinette.
PHOTO: SAM NZIMA
PHOTO: LOUISE GUBB
Nelson Mandela together with children who today enjoyequal rights. Here the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund,NMCF, is inaugerated.
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Violence against childrenThe protest by the school children continued for 15 yearsuntil the end of apartheid. Police and soldiers used violenceagainst the children. Many children were jailed, tortured and killed.
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One morning,Gabatshwane’s moth-er didn’t wake up.
Gabatshwane shook her butnothing happened. Shethought that maybe hermum was just tired. But herfather and big brother Vusiknew that she’d died in hersleep. She’d had AIDS.
A year later, her father alsodied of AIDS and Gabatsh-wane, her sister Zodwa andVusi were orphaned. No onewould take care of them.
They had to manage bythemselves in the small family house in the village of Letabong in northwesternSouth Africa.
“I used to look up at thesky and ask mum to comeback home. I got very upsetwhen she didn’t answer.Finally I understood that shewas still around but couldn’ttalk to me in the usual way,”says Gabatshwane.
After the deaths of her par-ents, many of the villagers
“Thank you for your magic...,” singsGabatshwane in her song to Nelson Mandela.
She thanks him for all he has done for the children of South Africa, for her freedom, forthe chance to go to school and for his respectfor children’s rights. But she thanks him particu-larly for the help he’s given to her and other children who’ve lost their parents to AIDS orwho have AIDS themselves.
Gabatshwane helps the poor people of the vil-lage and orphaned school friends. She buys foodfor them with the money she earns with her band.
Gabatshwanes song
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were afraid that she, too,was ill and thought that theycould be infected by her. Buta test showed that she didn’thave AIDS. Even so, Gabatsh-wane remained withoutfriends. When she was littleshe fell into a tub of boilingwater and was burnt on herright arm and leg.
“Everybody at schoollaughed at me and I wasalways alone,” she says.
When the other childrenwere out playing, she stayed
This is the chorus of Gabatshwane’ssong about Mandela, or ‘Madiba’ ashe’s known in South Africa: “Hey Madiba, you take me up. Hey Madiba, you take us to school,you respect our rights. Hey Madiba,you make me proud. Thanks foryour magic!”
Listen to Gabatshwane’s song toMandela at www.childrensworld.org
Her other hero, NkosiNelson Mandela is Gabatshwane’s biggesthero. But she also has another hero: NkosiJohnson, the boy who fought for the rights ofchildren with AIDS in South Africa to betreated with respect. Nkosi died of AIDS atthe age of 12 on 1 June 2001– the same daythat South Africa celebrated InternationalChildren’s Day. In April 2002 Nkosi wasposthumously (after his death)awarded the Global Friends’Award by the children of theworld. He also shared the jury children’s World’sChildren’s Prize with Maiti from Nepal. Read more about Nkosi atwww.childrensworld.org
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Thank you forthe magic,Madiba!
g to MandelaPHOTO: AP
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at home and listened to theradio. Soon she knew thewords to all the popularsongs, and one day herbrother heard how well shecould sing.
A hug from MandelaHer big brother Vusi formed a band and called it Gabatshwane, withGabatshwane as the singer.The first song she wrote was
about Nelson Mandela. “I wanted to thank him
for everything he’s done forour country. Life was terri-ble in South Africa duringapartheid, and people diedfull of rage in their hearts,”she says.
When Nelson heard aboutGabatshwane he invited herto sing at a concert in CapeTown. He really liked thesong about him and he
thanked Gabatshwane witha big hug. Since then he hashelped spread the wordabout the band, which hasresulted in more concerts.Today, Gabatshwane per-forms nearly every weekend.
“I wish that I could wake upone morning with a heart asgood as Nelson Mandela’s,”says Gabatshwane.
Like Mandela she tries tohelp children in need. With
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Prison numberbecame AIDScampaignNelson Mandela supportschildren and families withAIDS through his children’sfoundation, NMCF, and his 46664 campaign. Thenumbers come from histime in prison on RobbenIsland: his prisoner number was 466-64.
Many celebrities, such asBeyonce and actor BradPitt, support Mandela’swork with AIDS. Mandela’sgoal is to help children whohave lost their parents toAIDS. He doesn’t want the world to forget AIDSsufferers and orphans. So he’s requested theartists who support thecampaign to make a record called 46664.
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Now that their parents aredead, it is Gabatshwane’sbig brother Vusi who takescare of the family.
Gabatshwane and her bigbrother Vusi do not onlyshop for themselves…
…with the money she makes from the music, Gabatshwane buys food for the poor in thevillage and gives food parcels to her orphaned school friends. The woman receiving a bagfull of groceries today is very happy.
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the money she earns she buysfood for the poor people ofthe village. She also bringsfood parcels to her orphanedschool friends.
“When my mum died I felt like I was all alone in the world. Nobody shouldhave to go through that,”she says.
Sings about AIDSGabatshwane used to hideher scars under long skirtsand long-sleeved tops. Nowshe doesn’t bother.
“It’s so hot here that youcan die from heat stroke.And after all, it’s my body!”
says Gabatshwane.But she still doesn’t like it
when other children getteased. Especially if it’sabout AIDS. Gabatshwanethinks that people should benice to children with AIDS.She tells her classmates thatyou can’t get AIDS just byplaying with infected chil-dren.
Gabatshwane thinks thatAIDS is South Africa’sbiggest problem, particularlyas there isn’t enoughmedicine to go around. Herparents couldn’t afford tobuy AIDS medicine andwhen they became ill they
died almost immediately. “If it goes on like this, the
world’s population will soonbe halved. It makes me madjust thinking about it,” saysGabatshwane, who’s writtena song about AIDS. She usu-ally sings afro-pop, but hersong about the children ofIraq is a rap number.
“I saw on TV how the children cried. They’d losttheir parents in the war. Itmade me think what a realpity it is that more peopledon’t have a heart as good as Mandela’s.” �
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Gabatshwane Gumede, 11 Lives: In Letabong in SouthAfrica with my brother andsister. We’re orphans.Sings: My own songs aboutAIDS and Nelson Mandela inGabatshwane, an afro-popand rap group.Her earnings: I buy foodparcels for orphaned schoolfriends. Hero: Mandela and his goodheart. Nkosi Johnson, the boywho fought for the rights ofchildren with AIDS.
‘Grandad’ Mandela helps Unathi
Unathi, 12, lives inSoweto in a homecalled the Bethanie
Children’s Home. Many ofthe children there have eitherrun away from violent par-ents or have been orphaned.Unathi doesn’t know whohis mother or father is. Hewas found on the pavementwrapped in a plastic sackwhen he was a new-bornbaby.
“I think my mother wassick and very poor. Shecouldn’t look after me butshe knew that someonewould find me on the pave-ment,” says Unathi.
Bethanie has been Unathi’shome ever since. AlthoughNelson Mandela supportsthe centre, he’d rather children never had to growup in a home – they belongin families.
With the support ofMandela’s children’s foundation, the staff atBethanie either look for newparents or help to deal withthe problems in the chil-dren’s families so they canmove back home. But as yetno one has adopted Unathi.Maybe it’s because he hasAIDS. But he’s not as illnowadays; four years ago,Unathi and the others begantaking AIDS medicine.Before that it had been tooexpensive.
Going to summer campUnathi and his friends haveplanted a tree in memory offriends who have died ofAIDS. No children have diedat the home since they start-ed taking the medicine.Unathi thinks this is great,and says it was NelsonMandela who helped makethe AIDS medicine cheaper.
“Sometimes I don’t under-stand why ‘Tata’ Mandela isso kind. But it’s lucky for usthat he is. Otherwise thingswouldn’t be this good forus,” says Unathi and explainsthat ‘Tata’ means ‘Grandad’.
After school Unathi enjoysroller-skating and playingfootball or cricket. Then hewatches TV and does hishomework. In two months’time, during the school holi-days, Unathi and his friendswill be going on a summercamp – all arranged byMandela. They’re indeedvery lucky to have such akind-hearted grandad! �
(Unathi’s name has beenchanged for this article.)
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Nelson Mandela enjoyswalking. He likes toget up early in the
morning and go out beforethe sun rises. One morningsomething significant hap-pened. It was in the daysbefore he became president.He was out walking in CapeTown when he suddenly sawsome street children wakingup on the pavement.
Nelson went up and talkedto them. He had just won theNobel Peace Prize and haddonated a large portion ofthe prize money to street
children. The boys askedhim why he loved them somuch. Nelson thought thisrather a strange question. He replied that everyoneloves children; that’s why
all children are loved. But the boys didn’t agree.
After all, they lived on thestreet precisely because noone did love them. Nelsonthought this was tragic. He couldn’t stop thinkingabout the boys and wantedto do more to help them.
When he became presi-dent in 1994 he started hisown children’s foundation to help abandoned andorphaned children. BrendaShongwe and Phule Lechoba are two of thechildren.
Mandela and thestreet children
Brenda Shongwe waseleven when her moth-er disappeared. Brendalived alone on thestreets of Johannes-burg until a socialworker found her andtook her to a home forstreet children. “I was really sad. Notonce did my mum eversay that she loved me. I thought I was theonly child in the wholeworld who was un-loved,” says Brenda.
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Brenda speech to the President
At the Usindiso Shelterthere are hundreds ofchildren who have run
away from home or have losttheir parents in some way. Although Brenda realisedthat she wasn’t alone afterall, it didn’t stop her fromfeeling disappointed andangry.
“I just couldn’t understandwhy my mum didn’t wantme. She drank and got intofights and sometimes I waskept away from school.”
Brenda doesn’t have afather either. She’s never methim. Her mother didn’t wantto tell her his name. Sheeventually found out, how-ever, by then it was too late:
he’d already died.After Brenda moved into
the Usindiso Shelter shestarted going to school again,but it didn’t work out so well.She didn’t do her homework.She’d been abandoned byboth her mother and herfather, and life seemed gener-ally hopeless. She took
painkillers and sleeping pillsto forget.
Cardboard dreams Everything changed the dayBrenda discovered the worldof theatre. She was given apart in a musical called“Cardboard Dreams”,which was staged at the
Nelson Mandela Theatre inJohannesburg. The lead rolewas played by the SouthAfrican TV actor DesmondDube.
“He used to be a streetchild, too. When he told usabout his life on the street Iunderstood that there’s stillhope,” says Brenda.
The musical is about a girlwho lives in a cardboard boxon the streets. Whenever shebegs for money, the grown-ups tell her to go home to hermother. But the girl is anorphan and doesn’t have amother. It’s a very sad storyon the whole but it all endshappily for the girl. And that’sthe most important thing for
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Brenda on Nelson Mandela:“He’s amazing. There’ll never be another president likehim. For me he’s already a living legend. When he wasreleased from prison he didn’t want revenge, he justsaid: ‘OK, I’m black but I can be friends with anyone’.
He’s taught us that you can have friends that arewhite, brown or yellow.”
Brenda Shongwe, 14, a former street child.
When Brenda’s mother disappeared she was forced to live alone on the streets. Now she goes to school and she wants tobecome a politician and fight to make South Africa a good country for all children.
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Brenda: Life’s not aboutwhere you’ve come from butwhere you’re heading.
Today Brenda is reallygoing places; she’s doing wellat school and has decided tobecome a politician. Shewants to help South Africa
become a better country, and last year she even madea speech in Parliament inCape Town.
Give us a chance“I talked about what it’s liketo be a street child and asked
the politicians to give us achance. If adults start to careabout us, we’ll also have achance to get on in life.”
All the politicians, includ-ing President Thabo Mbeki,were so impressed that theygave her a standing ovation.And they asked her to comeback and speak again.
Brenda nods: if you wantto change something youhave to work hard, just likeher hero Nelson Mandelahas done. Not only has hehelped make South Africa abetter place for all children,he’s also donated money toBrenda and her friends sothey can go to school andperform on stage. If it hadn’tbeen for him, Brenda wouldstill be living on the street ina state of despair.
“I don’t despair anymore,although I still get sad some-times. When I see childrentogether with their parents intown it makes me want to cry.Then I quickly think about
Desmond Dube and NelsonMandela. They’ve worked sohard to achieve their dreams,and that’s exactly what I’mgoing to do too.” �
Phule Lechoba goes tothe same school asBrenda. He’s a street
child too and for the lastfour years he has been livingat a boys’ home in Hillbrow,Johannesburg. His story issimilar to Brenda’s: his mumdrinks and he’s never met his dad.
The last time Phule met hismother, she was so ill that hethought she was going to diein front of his eyes. Theneighbours phoned for anambulance, which came andtook her away. Today Phuledoesn’t even know if she’sstill alive.
Phule had to live on the
Phule – a writer in the ma
Phule (to the left) chats with his school friends. For two years he lived on the streets. The book about Mandela’s life inspired him to start writing a book of his own.
The next time Brenda getsasked to hold a speech inparliament she’ll ask thegovernment to help the chil-dren from Zimbabwe. Manyof them are orphaned andhave fled across the borderinto South Africa. To Brendathe situation seems terrible.She says that Mugabe, thepresident of Zimbabwe, hasruined everything for thechildren there.
Brenda’s friend Petronellacomes from Zimbabwe andalso lives at the UsindisoShelter. But not everybody
gets a place there. Many ofthe children come to SouthAfrica as illegal refugees.They’re frightened that thepolice will send them back to Zimbabwe, and so theyhide on the streets ofJohannesburg.
It’s no easy life, and thechildren have to sell illegalthings like drugs to getmoney.
“It’s worse for girls. If theycan’t find a home there’sonly one way to survive. Tobecome a prostitute and sellyour body,” says Brenda.
Brenda’s friend from Zimbabwe
Brenda Shongwe, 14Lives: At the Usindiso Shelterhome for street children inJohannesburg, South Africa.Used to be: A street child. My mum abandoned me. Likes: Drama.Hero: Nelson Mandela.Best friend: Petronella, whomoved here from Zimbabwe.Is sad: When I see children with their parents.
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streets and couldn’t go toschool. Two years later asocial worker found him andasked him if he wanted to goto a home for street children.He did.
“Life without parents ishard. You have to look afteryourself the whole time and
know exactly what youwant,” he says.
And Phule knowsexactly what he wants.A year ago he read abiography of NelsonMandela called The LongWalk to Freedom.
“I was so impressed about what he managed to achieve,” says Phule, who wants to be just likeMandela.
But Phule doesn’t want tobe president or a politician.
He wants to be an authorand write books that canhelp other people changetheir lives. He’s signed upfor a course arranged by theNelson Mandela Children’sFund to help people learnhow to research information
and write. But Phule has already
started. He writes a littleevery evening and will soonhave filled a whole notebookwith the stories that he hopeswill one day be published asa real book. �
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“Nelson Mandela is almost likeJesus. He gave half his life to giveus a better future. I believe thatthere’s a great deal to be learntfrom him.” Phule Lechoba
Street children disappearThere are at least 10,000 street chil-dren in South Africa. Most are black.There are also white kids who’ve runaway from home or who’ve beenabandoned by their parents. Oncethey lived in different homes. Nowblack children live there too but duringapartheid they weren’t allowed to livein the “white” homes.
Under apartheid, the police wouldbeat any black children they saw livingon the street in the cities. Street chil-dren frequently “disappeared”, andsometimes it was the police who’dtaken them away and killed them.
When South Africa became a demo-cracy and Mandela became presidentseveral new homes for street childrenwere built. Children can now livetogether regardless of colour.
Although conditions have improvedfor South Africa’s street childrensince apartheid, many people believethat HIV/AIDS will increase the num-ber of street children. In five yearsthere could be as many as one millionAIDS orphans in South Africa, andmany of those who don’t find a homewill end up on the street.
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Children who live on the streets of Johannesburg.
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Just say no to bullies“Hey! Yo! Yes, yes,yes! It’s me again!”calls Zanele Gama, 12,into the mike. It’sSaturday morning andthe radio showRebound has juststarted. Rebound isbroadcast all over theJohannesburg region,and Zanele can hardlywait to have her say.Today’s show is aboutpeer pressure and bul-lying – somethingthat Zaneleknows allabout.
“Listen up! If your bestfriend tries to make
you do something you don’twant to – dump him or her.You can always make newfriends,” Zanele tells her lis-teners.
Zanele isn’t sure exactlyhow many children listen totheir show on Jozi FM eachweek, but Soweto has morethan one million inhabitantsso there must be a few thou-sand, at least.
“That makes me a celebri-ty,” she laughs.
The best part about radiois that no one can see whatshe and her friends look like.Only their voices can beheard, which helps the girlspluck up the courage to dis-cuss all kinds of topics, how-ever sensitive. The girls areprofessional – Nelson
Mandela has arranged forthem to attend a course onmaking radio programmesabout children’s rights.
Thanks for the tip!They play records too.Zanele is a big fan of popdiva Brenda Fassie, and theyall start dancing and singing‘Yeah, let’s go, let’s go’around the little studio whenthe DJ puts on one of hersongs. But then it’s time toreturn to serious matters; it’sthese discussions, after all,that make their programmeso special.
Zanele sits down at themicrophone and tells the lis-teners about the time herfriends tried to get her tosmoke. When she refused
they bullied her and told herthat she couldn’t be in theirgang.
“You know what I did? I stood my ground and madea new friend that respects mefor who I am,” she says.
A little later a listenerphones in. Her name’sKutloano and she’s elevenyears old. She has a similarproblem. Her friend wantedher to steal crayons and pencils from a shop.
“Thanks for the tip,” she says. “Now I have thecourage to say no.”
Airtime is running out.Next week’s show will beabout children who ‘disap-pear’ and what happens tothem. The DJ, who’s the onlyadult on the programme,
says that Soweto girls are thebravest because they tackleissues that grown-ups don’teven dare talk about. �
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Zanele Gama (to the left, and above with the orange hat) gives ideas on howto make new friends if your existing ones want you to participate in bullying.
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Hello friend!
Nokuphila, 12, lives inSoweto and hosts theradio programmeRebound.
“The best thing aboutRebound is that you don’tonly help children, you alsolearn a lot yourself,” shesays.
One morning her friendwas very troubled. She didn’t want to go to schoolthat day. When Nokuphilaasked her if she wanted toshare her lunch box, shestarted to cry. Nokuphilarealised that something terrible had happened. Herfriend said that she’d onlytell her if she promised tokeep it secret.
Nokuphila promised andher friend told her thatsome older girls had beentrying to make her get aboyfriend. She didn’t wantto, but they didn’t listen.The boy was several yearsolder and Nokuphila’sfriend was afraid of him.
“I didn’t know what to do,”says Nokuphila. “I’dpromised to keep quiet.
My friend was afraid thatthe boy would come afterher if he found out she’dtold on him.”
After Rebound the follow-ing week, Nokuphila knewjust what to do. The pro-gramme was about wherepeople can turn if theyneed help. Nokuphila toldher teacher and they metthe friend in secret (so noone would see). Then theparents, teachers and apolice officer spoke to theolder girls and the boy.Nokuphila’s friend is nowleft in peace.
Nokuphila helps a friend in need
Nokuphila Simelane.
The radio girls Lesedi Makoane and Palesa Mphambane have a different greeting.
The radio girls Kutloano Tsoamotse andKgomotso Diphoko have a specialgreeting between friends.
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Mpho and his friendsgo to a school for the disabled
called Forrest Town inJohannesburg. Mpho has aproblem with his neck. Itgives him trouble, but hesays he can do just aboutanything. So he wanted toprove it to all those who saythat disabled people are use-less. Opening up a café nextto the school was the perfectanswer.
“We don’t only serve coffee and tea, but bakemuffins and pies and lookafter the money too.Everyone is surprised how
well it’s going,” says Mpho.The café is open every day
and has had many celebrityguests. The former worldboxing champion, BabyJake, is Mpho’s favourite.
“Just imagine – I served a world champion! And I didn’t spill a drop!” he saysproudly. His big dream is toserve Nelson Mandela. Hewould be the café’s specialguest of honour. He hasdonated money to theirschool and has persuadedseveral large companies tosupport disabled children.During apartheid there was-n’t one single school for dis-
abled black children. For Mpho, Constance,
Phumeza and Dylan, this isthe best school in the world.Phumeza Qwasha is sohappy there that she neverwants to leave. Mpho,
however, can’t wait to finishsecondary school. He haslearnt a lot about business atthe café and wants to starthis own firm – maybe sellingcars. �
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A café foreveryoneWhen Mpho, Constance, Phumeza and Dylanopened a café, they proved something important.“There are some people that still think we areuseless just because we’re disabled,” says Mpho Mafazca, 15.
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