Foundation celebrates Kathrada’s 90th birthday

The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation celebrated what would have been the 90th birthday of late founder, Ahmed Kathrada, with the Kathrada Legacy Banquet at the Sandton Convention Centre on 19 October. With the aim of raising funds for the foundation, the event also proved to highlight all the work that the foundation has done thus far.

Former Robben Island prisoner and activist, Kathrada took a great stand to deepen non-racialism in post-apartheid South Africa. Formed in early 2008, the foundation has been able to uphold this goal, affecting more than 1 000 lives and communities across the country.

“Kathrada’s life has been characterised by his commitment to the best values and principles of the South African liberation struggle, particularly that of non-racialism,” noted the foundation’s executive director Neeshan Balton.

‘Uncle Kathy’ as Kathrada was known by many, strongly believed that all individuals are equal and should be treated as such. These values and principals were apparent when the foundation targeted various youth groups and schools across the country. The foundation was able to teach the youth about issues of racism and how to combat it.

The annual youth leadership programme is just one of the programmes that the foundation runs to better engage and educate people. The programme is aimed at developing an understanding of liberation history by visiting various historical sites. Through the programme, youngsters are able to develop a sense of leadership and activism skills.

Last year the programme took a group of learners on a five-day trip to Robben Island. This allowed the youngsters to not only learn in theory what the island meant to South African history but they could also experience it for themselves.

Through the banquet event, the foundation was able to raise over R500 000 by way of an auction and a total of over R2 million altogether.

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