Mandisa Mjamba ’10 spoke last Friday as the first CAMD Scholar, discussing the relationship between music and politics in South Africa. Mjamba educated her audience about the youth of her home country in a presentation titled “A Glimpse of South Africa through the Voices of their Youth.” Last year, Mandisa Mjamba ’10 realized that no CAMD scholar had pursued studying an aspect of African culture and decided that she wanted to be the first. Mjamba said that she was concerned that she “did not fully understand how mothers and fathers in South Africa today grew up.” After spending time at the LEAP Science and Math School, a high school geared towards educating underprivileged South African children, Mjamba said she realized that she did not know as much about her history and culture as she wished to. “Not only did I want to be informed, but I wanted to appreciate and understand my history,” said Mjamba. Her slideshow began with, “Never did I seize the time to consider—are things the way they should be? Is who we are adequate? Today, I hear those lyrics in my ears and question our role in this country. Perhaps we should re-evaluate.” To illustrate the power and spirit of music in her country, Mjamba invited Matimba Ya Ripfumelo, which translates to the Power of Hope, to perform. Members of Matimba Ya Ripfumelo came together because they had all suffered losses from HIV/AIDS. Teboho Moeno, the founder and leader of the ensemble, said they are “just a group of people who want to make a difference and say enough is enough.” The group had the audience on their feet, dancing, clapping and singing along. Mjamba also defined youth and discussed the various meanings of the word in different areas of the world. For example, in South Africa, someone as old as thirty-five years old could still be considered youth. Following her definition, Mjamba explained the former education system of South Africa, Bantu Education, which segregated educational institutions by race and favored white students. As a result, black students were neglected and subjected to unfair standards of learning. “Education brings social awareness. And I used to wonder why going to school was so important,” Mjamba said. Protesting proved to be a vital catalyst in bringing about change in South Africa. On June 16, 1976, 15,000 students marched to protest the biased educational system, and nearly 1,000 people died. In all of the seven official languages of South Africa, students sang and spoke out against what they felt was unfair. What instilled the most fear in the South African defense forces was a song and dance called toyi-toyi. Today, there is an annual music festival to commemorate the student protest. “We are wiser because we learn from a history of failures and successes. We are richer because what is made today will be ours tomorrow. We are powerful because we are next to rule,” Mjamba said. She then challenged her audience to consider this idea as she has. “I believe that a young person with a dream and a microphone in hand is powerful,” Mjamba said. Linda Carter Griffith, Dean of CAMD, said, “Mandisa’s project reflects the CAMD Scholar ideals—dream and pursue your passion to educate yourself about some aspect of your culture and then share that acquired knowledge with our community. We are delighted by the success of Mandisa’s presentation. She was eloquent and poised and made the entire CAMD office proud.” The CAMD Scholars program, now in its third year, provides sponsorship and advising to students who wish to pursue a deeper knowledge of their culture and share it with the Andover community.
