Heritage Programme

There is an immense depth and diversity of heritage in and from the Eastern Cape including a wealth of African intelligentsia from political and intellectual leadership such as Nxele-Makana, Tiyo Soga, Walter Rubusana, Oliver Tambo, Steve Biko and Nelson Mandela, to a wide range of leading academics, historians, writers, artists, musicians and poets.

Here the Foundation assists local communities in reclaiming some of their heritage by facilitating research, reconstruction and integration back into communities. Initial projects are small-scale and designed to be integrated with our education programme as part of a wider community-regeneration process in itself. These include:

• DWF Mbashe Community Partnership - The partnership between the Donald Woods Foundation, the Mbashe Municipality, and four government departments was launched at Madwaleni on 26th October 2007 with over 1,000 people in attendance, entertained with traditional singing, dancing and a praise poet in the presence of the Bomvana Royal Family. More...
  
  
• Mbashe Heritage Sites - Integrated map of Mbashe showing Mandela’s birthplace at Mvezo, the burial place of the great Xhosa Chief, Sarili, Miller Mission – where a number of the Soga family were based, and Guse, the Great Place of the Bomvana Royal Household. The map also shows all the schools & clinics in the region. See Map
  
  
• Genealogical Tree Research - This is the culmination of several years’ research into the genealogical roots of key families who were from and lived in the Mbashe area. These include the Bomvana Royal Household, the Soga Family Tree, and the Woods Family Tree. A wider project includes the various royal households within the wider AmaXhosa nation.
  
  
• Mandela Statue - Born in Mbashe, Nelson Mandela has been honoured as a global figure on a global stage with 9 foot statue in Parliament Square, London. A project initiated by Donald Woods, the statue was unveiled in 2007 by Donald Woods Foundation Chair, Wendy Woods; Prime Minister Gordon Brown; London Mayor Ken Livingstone; and (Lord) Richard Attenborough, in the presence of Nelson Mandela. More...
  
  
• Beyond a Boundary - A sporting project taking an English Village Club beyond the simple sporting boundary of a cricket field to play township sides in Masingata, Xesi and Mdantsane. This included raising funds for 300 items of cricket equipment, including 57 cricket bats, for township clubs and schools in the area. One match included an AmaCale’gushe XI (from ‘half a sheep’ – one of the oldest cricket tournaments in South Africa, contested by black clubs since the 1920s). The tour culminated in a match versus the Border Exec XI at Buffalo Park. More...
  
  
• Qunu ~ Miller Mission Challenge - The Foundation’s first ever "Qunu ~ Miller Mission Challenge" involved 40 students, staff and drivers running 34 kms in relay to highlight the hardship endured by people living in rural areas like Mbashe, who have to walk long distances to access healthcare. This route retraced Mandela's walk (aged 7) with his mother in 1925 from their Qunu home to see Dr Lex Soga at Miller Mission. More...
  
  
• Donald Woods Library & Archive - This is an ongoing project to catalogue the life and work of Donald Woods. It is initially a UK-based archive but with elements to be developed for the Foundation’s wider programmes in education and heritage.
  
  
• Mandela~Biko~Woods Trail - An educational heritage trail through the Eastern Cape provides a unique opportunity for those fascinated by the rich heritage that played a huge role in shaping today’s history with a trail beginning in East London, running through the Amathole region and into Mbashe, taking in many of the historical footprints left by Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko and Donald Woods. This route also provides the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the Eastern Cape’s most pioneering dynasty, the Soga family. More...