Tambo Foundation End of Year Newsletter

This year we were pleased and honoured to work with the Oliver & Adelaide Tambo Foundation on a few occasions, most notably the 2019 Oliver Tambo Memorial Lecture. This year’s lecture was delivered by Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

The Tambo team are phenomenal! Read their End of Year newsletter below. #SARising

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The Oliver & Adelaide Tambo Foundation wishes to sincerely thank you for all of your support in 2019 and especially during the month of October as we celebrated Tambo Month!

We are extremely pleased with the outcomes of this year’s Tambo Month in which we presented our first ever Imbawula story-telling evening; a brunch which saw Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Tambo Foundation Patron Ambassador Lindiwe Mabuza in conversation; and the 2019 Oliver Tambo Memorial Lecture which was delivered by Congresswoman Waters.

We ended the year on a high note by hosting the inaugural Tambo Foundation Business Breakfast Fundraiser which looked at Realising Tambo’s Vision for an Equal Society: A Retrospective of 25 Years of Democracy.

Below, some of the highlights from the last three months.

TAMBO LIVES! IMBAWULA

The Tambo Lives! Imbawula, held at the Market Theatre on 8 October 2019, set the tone for the month. Heartwarming stories about Tambo were shared, some humorous others inspirational. Minister Ayanda Dlodlo spoke of her own recollections as well as those of people who worked closely with Tambo. Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo regaled the audience with a story about growing up in exile in Lusaka and the relationship between Zambia’s then President, Kenneth Kaunda, and Oliver Tambo.

Tambo was an ardent pan-Africanist who valued and understood the importance and positive impact of unity across the continent. It was wonderful to listen to Thebe Ikalafeng giving us detailed accounts of his travels throughout Africa and how Tambo is, to this day, remembered and loved in several countries on our beloved continent. Pontsho Pilane told a story that gave us a youth’s perspective on Tambo. Her story focused on growing up in a newly democratic dispensation and the impact of those freedoms on a generation of young people.

It was a night not to be forgotten! Without WIPHOLD, Kaya FM and of course the Imbawula team, this event would not have been possible and we remain grateful to them for their support.

OLIVER TAMBO MEMORIAL LECTURE

The Oliver Tambo Memorial Lecture is one of the highlights of our annual calendar. The event brings together South Africans from all walks of life to listen to and learn from those who espouse the Tambo values. This year’s lecture was delivered by Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who has dedicated her life to the struggle against injustice, both in South Africa during the 1970s and 80s, as well as her native America to date. Lebo Mashile, the evening’s programme director, gave an electric performance accompanied by world renowned ballerina Kitty Phetla and Moving into Dance.

Broadcast live on both SABC and SAfm, the lecture enabled South Africans to learn more about the history, values and importance of Oliver Tambo within a South African and global context. Congresswoman Waters also spoke at length about the dangers of xenophobia in both America and South Africa and the need for South Africa to band together to address the scourge of gender-based violence that has reached epidemic proportions.

The evening also gave us the opportunity to announce a very exciting initiative in partnership with the National Research Foundation. We are thrilled that our two organisations will be creating 55 scholarships for black, female, African doctoral students over the next 5 years. If you’d like to support this initiative, please email info@tambofoundation.org.za or click here for more information.

Thank you to our lecture sponsors Absa, Telkom, Motsepe Foundation, Safika Holdings, Brand South Africa, Birchwood Hotel and SAfm, whose support ensured that we were able to host a fitting tribute to Oliver Tambo on the eve of what would have been his 102^nd birthday.

We have posted an album of photos from the evening, which you are welcome to view and share on your social media platforms. Please remember to tag @tambofoundation and use the hashtags #TamboLecture and #Tambo102.

BUSINESS BREAKFAST

We hosted the inaugural Tambo Foundation Business Breakfast Fundraiser on the 3^rd of December 2019, at Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), in conjunction with Absa and SAfm, who broadcast live from the event. Themed Realising Tambo’s Vision for an Equal Society: A Retrospective of 25 Years of Democracy, the discussion brought together 100 people from business, civil society and government.

Facilitated by veteran journalist, Ms Siki Mgabadeli, the illustrious panel brought together the Governor of the Reserve Bank of South Africa, Mr Lesetja Kganyago; Former Justice of the Constitutional Court, Justice Albie Sachs; Chancellor of the Nelson Mandela University, Ms Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi; and Chief Executive Officer of The Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College (SOMAFCO Trust), Mr Tlholohelo Mohlathe, to unpack the last quarter of a century in our country.

We were so pleased to host learners from O.R. Tambo’s alma mater, St Martin’s School (formerly St Peter’s) at the sold out event as it is of the utmost importance to us that a new generation of young people is taught the Tambo values. One of the learners, Ms Letani Keyter, had this to say: “It also strikes me that everything for which he stood is still relevant today, and he really understood the art of caring for a meaningful cause.”

Thank you once again for your support throughout the year.
We wish you and your loved ones happy holidays!