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‘Happy birthday Mama Winnie’ – A tribute to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
‘Happy birthday Mama Winnie’ – A tribute to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
LeseDi Muhlari
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NOMZAMO MADIKIZELA MANDELA PRIMARY SCHOOL LEARNER
IT is truly an honour to be given the opportunity to write about Mama Winnie.
Winnie Madikizela Mandela: born september 26, 1936 in the village of Mbongweni, Bizani, Transkei.
As a young girl, her family moved around a lot because of her father’s work.
Full of strength, she passed her primary school years with distinctions, completed her matric at Qumbu and obtained her degree in social Work in 1955. i speak so highly about her education because it is a dream that i hope to achieve. Despite my circumstances, I hope to move through the challenges that life has to offer, as she did hers and finish school with distinctions.
In 1953, she moved to Johannesburg and it was only then that she saw the ugly side of apartheid, every day. This was enough motivation for her interest in national politics. Growing up as a young black girl with so many things pushing against me – poverty, high unemployment rate, lack of resources – I can only wish to be given the strength she had to fight. Fight for my nation, for my family, but most importantly, for myself. To free myself from the invisible chains that hold me back.
Mama Winnie you give me hope.
There’s a quote i absolutely cherish from Mama Winnie that says: “Preventing the conflicts of tomorrow means changing the mindset of the youth today.”
Being in a school named after you Mama, Nomzamo Madikizela Mandela Primary school, I pledge to carry your legacy – to live up to your standards, to be a product of my nation, my people, and to remember where i come from. I pledge to keep the dream alive, blind myself from any drugs, conflicts and all things that could deter me from reaching my goal. i pledge to be a changed youth of Nomzamo.
Thank you for being iMBOKODO. You have shaped and inspired many girls in our school.
Ours is to ensure that your legacy lives on. We will continue to celebrate you, from the moment we rise to our last breath. Like a phoenix, we will rise as you did, many times, when the system was against you.
