Today, we began by joining Cromwell at his church for a Christian mass. With lots of singing and dancing, it was a beautiful service, and in true South African charismatic church service style, it lasted over 3 hours!

After church, Cromwell took us to Soweto , the largest grouping of townships in South Africa. Soweto actually stands for South West Townships. Soweto is well known around the world for its many famous residents, including two Nobel Peace Prize recipients - Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.

Soweto is an incredibly important place historically for a number of events that occured there during the struggle against apartheid. The most well-known Soweto event was the Uprising in 1976, when black students decided to boycott the use of Afrikaans in the classroom. Most students could not speak Afrikaans, yet the government forced them to speak and learn in this language. By forcing black students to learn in a language they did not understand, the government was limiting their learning capacity and their ability to excel.

Cromwell gave us a tour of Regina Mundi Church. This large Catholic church played an integral role in Soweto’s resistance against apartheid as it was a place that people could freely exchange political ideas when they are banned from all other locations. The scars it bears from the Soweto Uprising can still be seen.

We also visited a prior home of Nelson Mandela in a part of Soweto called Orlando West, which is now the Mandela Family Museum. Of the many stories we heard about this freedom fighter, my favorite was one about a pair of his military shoes that he left behind while he was imprisoned for 27 years. A local woman found the shoes after he had been arrested, held onto them, and returned them to him after his release. She simply laid them down in front of him and said, “Young man, Mandela, you forgot your shoes.” We were told that she kept them for 27 years because she had faith in what he was doing, and believed with all of her heart that he would be released. Those shoes are on display in this humble four room house, along with the first pair of shoes that Mandela bought as a free man.

Very inspired,

P.S. The photo above is of the cooling tower from the Orlando Power Station. The Orlando Power Station once supplied electricity to the wealthy surburbs of Johannesburg, but not to the people of Soweto. The large mural, added to the cooling tower in 2003, has images of famous Sowetan landmarks and heroes, like Nelson Mandela.

Part I: June 16, 1976 with Christopher & Cromwell Majavo	Part II: Regina Mundi Church

Learn about Winnie Mandela.

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