Prince Gideon was a people’s man. He loved all people in the same way irrespective of their age, background, politics and class. Hence he had so many friends. He loved kids especially the orphans as if they were his biological grandchildren. My father was born on 1 January 1934. Both his parents were illiterate. They never went to school. However his mother’s ambition was that her son should receive formal education. Those days it was unheard of for a female to work in the farms. My grandmother was determined in making a difference for her son. She worked and sold the cattle of her homestead to take her child to school. My grandfather was not happy about this because to him there was no value in formal education. He felt that the kind of education and discipline his 100 and something children received at home was enough. During those days the wealth of a man was judged by the number of cows and women he had. My grandfather had 40 wives and 20 official girlfriends. My father’s going to school was seen as breaking away from Zulu culture. Although with time his father supported him. I am told that he was later softened by his love for his son, the young Prince. In fact the remaining grandmothers tell me that my father was a favorite son to his dad. He loved him so much that the short periods the son was at school were a torture to the senior Prince. His mom ignored every gossip and did what she thought was good for his son. That is how my dad received ‘civilization’, according to the western interpretation of the word civilization.
|
|
Zulu King & Amakhosi
|
Prince Gideon was a senior member of the Zulu Royal family. His grandfather Prince Ndabuko was a brother to King Cetshwayo the son of King Mpande. King Mpande my great great great grandfather was King Shaka’s half brother. My father started working as a senior clerk at Eshowe hospital. While working at the hospital he was a darling of all those who came into contact with him. This was because of his unconditional love for all human beings. While still working at the hospital, he formed an organization that was called Eshowe Christian Action Group. The purpose of this organization was to build schools mainly in the rural areas. He formed partnerships with Amakhosi (formely known as Chiefs). He urged them to donate pieces of land for the building of schools in their respective areas. He was successful in this venture. He went abroad to seek donations. He succeeded in doing this even though he had to overcome lots of political hindrances of the time. During those days apartheid system was at its best. The government of the day was anti- Black development. Well my father was a very courageous human being. He was committed to his vision to ensure that black children received education. He was the chairman of this organization until his passing on.
|
|
Prince Thobile Zulu
|
At the time of his death more that 2000 classrooms were built. Thereafter he joined KwaZulu-Natal Legislature. He held a variety of portfolios and eventually became the Minister of Welfare and Population Development. He did well there because of his love for human beings. During this time he built lots of old age homes, crèches for kids and he encouraged agriculture. Together with my Mom when the scourge of HIV/Aids became uncontrollable, they started to look after the victims of HIV/ Aids, the orphans at Nongoma. He also assisted me to establish my own Trust for the orphans. The name of the Trust is Qolothani Makhosikazi Trust. (Qolothani means work hard and Makhosikazi means women). Prince Gideon supported these projects untill his last breath went out of his body.
The DVD is available for sale at R120 each. The proceeds from the sales benefit the orphans of the Trust. Donations are welcome. The DVD is of significance to those who are interested in Zulu culture and customs. It also has a section which says ‘Magical Zululand’. This section shows what KwaZulu-Natal offers for the Tourists, besides the culture of the people.It is worth buying for its informative & educational value as well.
My contact details are:
|
|
Princess Gcwalisile Cynthia Zulu-Kabanyane
|
Name: Princess Gcwalisile Cynthia Zulu-Kabanyane
Mobile phone: 083 301 2470
Email:
cysk1@worldonline.co.za
The profits of the DVD will go to the Qlolothani Makhosikazi Trust;
The Trust was started in 2002. The beneficiaries are orphans in Eshowe. Presently the Trust is taking care of 22 Primary School learners from four schools; two schools from the rural area and two school from the township. One of these learners is now in High school and the trust is also taking care of her high education needs. The main focus is on their educational needs since my belief is that education is key to many doors. Therefore the Trust pays for school fees and other related costs. The Trust also buys groceries for the families of these kids once a month as this is a basic need for them to among other things be able to focus on school work. This is not possible on an empty stomach. With the availability of assistance the Trust is willing to add more orphans.
|
Top level
Zulu Leaders
