Foundation aims to empower girls
TODAY marks the 89th birthday of the late Dr Miriam Makeba.
The foundation named after Mama Africa will be using the day as a call to action and a chance to show South Africans how they too can help with the various projects they are working on.
“The inherent humanity a young Miriam Makeba possessed was never in question. It was the expression of African beauty and talent that the rest of the world had never associated with the African continent.
“To say that she was a trailblazer was an understatement. Socially conscious, immensely talented, culturally comfortable, Makeba’s signature voice enchanted audiences all over the globe,” said the foundation.
“The ideals and values of Mama lives in the foundation and the Miriam Makeba Centre for Girls in Midrand. Giving expression to the deeply held beliefs Makeba embraced throughout her lifetime – specifically, that women, especially young women deserve committed resources to empower those women that society has disempowered.”
Lindelani Makeba Lee, Makeba’s great-grandson said today was the start of preparations for the whole month of March.
“Essentially, what is going to happen is that we are focusing more on the month specifically than the day of her birth.
“Today, we commemorate her and discuss her influence throughout history and to this day. Continuing into the rest of the month, we are going to be letting people know about the work that we are doing and ways in which people can get involved," said Lindelani.
He said there was a particular focus on the Miriam Makeba Centre for Girls which has been the main priority for the foundation for the last two years.
“We're restoring and making sure that it is ready and renovated by the end of the year so that we can retake the girls back in and put it in a position that is better than it has ever been.”
Lindelani added that the foundation wants to coin March as the official Makeba Month.
“We can all focus on doing something for young ladies in need and ladies of all ages. It’s important for us, especially as South Africans, to focus on the impact women have on us in a positive way and the impact that has been made on women positively and negatively. There’s a lot of light that needs to be shed in those directions.”
He added that with issues like gender-based violence, it was not enough to just discuss them.
“We have to work 100% behind the fight against this.”
He said the foundation was putting in a lot of work for this month.
“Next year is going to be her 90th birthday, so we would like to ensure that this year goes into a lot of the preparations for that. And we want to make sure everyone knows about it if they want to get involved.”
This month there is a media campaign for the projects the foundation is running.
“We will be showing, at the end of the month, a culmination of all the efforts. We have a media team that is putting together a documentary of the centre, the situations that need to be addressed, all the things that need to be renovated and a quick explanation on how people can get involved,” said Lindelani.