Mamelodi
| Mamelodi | |
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View of Mamelodi
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 Mamelodi
Mamelodi
Mamelodi
Mamelodi shown within Gauteng
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| Coordinates: 25°42′08″S 28°19′39″E / 25.70222°S 28.32750°ECoordinates: 25°42′08″S 28°19′39″E / 25.70222°S 28.32750°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Gauteng |
| Municipality | City of Tshwane |
| Established | 1945 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 45.19 km2 (17.45 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 334,577 |
| • Density | 7,400/km2 (19,000/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 98.9% |
| • Coloured | 0.4% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.2% |
| • White | 0.1% |
| • Other | 0.3% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Northern Sotho | 42.3% |
| • Zulu | 12.2% |
| • Tsonga | 10.7% |
| • S. Ndebele | 8.8% |
| • Other | 26.0% |
| Postal code (street) | 0122 |
| PO box | 0101 |
| Area code | +27 (0)12 |
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 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. 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.l Mamelodi is home to the largest AIDS Hospice Center in South Africa with 140 beds available free of charge.
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 them is Tateni Community Care Services, funded in 1995, that operates 10 Drop-in Centres, mostly in primary schools, to support young children. Furthermore, they have a youth development program to support youth in- and out-of-school to work towards their "Breaking the Cycle of Poverty" approach. Another organization The Mamelodi Trust operates within five schools in the area. The Mamelodi Initiative, launched in 2010, focuses on providing after school and out-of-school time programming to Mamelodi residents through winter and summer holiday programmes, year-round computer courses, youth mentoring, and other opportunities for youth.
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Wikipedia