About Mvezo

Mvezo is a mountain top village within the Abathembu Kingdom overlooking the Mbashe River near Mthatha in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It boasts The Great Place where Nelson Mandela was born on 18 July 1918. Mvezo, wrote Nelson Mandela in his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, was a place apart. A tiny precinct removed from the world of great events, where life was lived much as it had been for hundreds of years.

Chief Zwelivelile Mandela, like his esteemed grandfather who is also a member of the Madiba clan, was inducted as the traditional leader of his people who number in excess of 110,000 in Mvezo alone and over 250,000 people in the wider surrounds.

The father of Nelson Mandela, Gadla Henry Mandela, was a respected Chief in the Thembu Royal House, reigning until his chieftainship was unlawfully removed by the then local white magistrate. He lost most of his cattle, land and income. The appointment of Chief Gadla Mandela's great grandson Zwelivelile as Chief was a very significant and symbolic restoration of history as it perpetuated the Madiba chieftancy and offered hope to the fulfillment of the legacy of Nelson Mandela.

The community of Mvezo is directly involved in the project and will allocate the budget for their self - help strategy. The projects they have identified are the building of the Mvezo Pre School, High and Primary School upgrades, modernizing the existing Clinic facility and various other community service projects. Through this project the community has already begun the building of a community centre ablution, kitchen and laundry facility.

Africa Salutes You is a unique project with a powerful message. It is a celebration of Nelson Mandela's twenty years of freedom under the African sun, as well as an opportunity to invest in future of the children of Mvezo.
 
Click here to view the Africa Salutes You collection