Mamelodi, Gauteng

Mamelodi
Location of Mamelodi
Coordinates: 25°42′08″S 28°19′39″E / 25.70222°S 28.3275°E / -25.70222; 28.3275Coordinates: 25°42′08″S 28°19′39″E / 25.70222°S 28.3275°E / -25.70222; 28.3275
Country	South Africa
Province	Gauteng
Metropolitan Municipality	Tshwane
Established	1945[1]
Time zone	SAST (UTC+2)

Mamelodi, part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is a township set up by the then apartheid government northeast of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established when 16 houses were built on the farm Vlakfontein in June 1953^{[citation needed]} and later the name changed to Mamelodi, the name given to president Paul Kruger by the Africans because of his ability to whistle and imitate birds, also meaning Mother of Melodies. The Group Areas Act designated Mamelodi as a blacks-only area, though this became moot with the fall of apartheid in 1994. In the 1960s black citizens where forcefully removed from the suburb of Lady Selbourne in Pretoria to Mamelodi, Ga-Rankuwa and Atteridgeville. Anti-apartheid activist Reverend Nico Smith preached in Mamelodi from 1982–1989, and obtained permission to live there himself from 1985–1989. During that period, he and his wife Ellen were the only whites legally allowed to live in Mamelodi.^[2] The township still has vastly more blacks than any other group as of 2010.

Since 2001 Mamelodi has had a large AIDS outreach program helping several thousand orphans in the community. Mamelodi is home to the largest AIDS Hospice Center in South Africa with 140 beds available free of charge.^{[citation needed]}

Society and culture

Education

The University of Pretoria operates a campus in Mamelodi. The campus in Mamelodi was incorporated to the University of Pretoria on 2 January 2004.

There are different organisations and groups that are working towards improving the standard of living and education levels within the township. One of these is the The Mamelodi Trust which operates within five schools in the area.

Sport

The township is home to the Mamelodi Sundowns of the ABSA Premier League and the Mamelodi Bees of the South African Women's Basketball League.

Mamelodi has produced football stars like Themba Mguni and Joel 'Fire' Masilela who where both sported from Mamelod Publican FC by Sundowns.

The HM Pitje Stadium is located in Mamelodi.

Life in Mamelodi

There are a lot of informal settlements in Mamelodi. The housing problem is so great in the area, but it is proving impossible to keep up with the demand. There are documentaries about the life in the informal settlements such as the Mamelodi Informal Settlements, Pretoria, South Africa [2010] by Film City Productions Ltd

References

1. ^ "Mamelodi Heritage Route Launched". South African Ministry for Environmental Affairs and Tourism. 2000-09-22. http://www.environment.gov.za/NewsMedia/MedStat/2000sept22/22sept2000.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
2. ^ Hevesi, Dennis (2010-06-21). "Nico Smith, White Minister Who Fought Apartheid, Dies at 81". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/world/africa/22smith.html. Retrieved 2010-06-22. 

External links

• The Mamelodi Mesh, part of the Wireless Africa programme of the Meraka Institute