Neighbour able to see ‘Winnie’s very big heart’ on visits

Neighbours of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela have continued to pay their respects to her family at her Orlando West, Soweto, home, describing her as, among other things, having a “very big heart”.

But they have also described the hardship she endured during her fight for a democratic South Africa. Above all, she still remained a people’s person, they said.

Barbara Mathews-Manthata, who grew up a street away from Madikizela-Mandela, said she was able to “see Winnie’s heart” during her visits to her home.

“Winnie, to us, was a combination of a sister, a mother, a comrade, a social worker, a person with a very big heart; a person who had empathy for those who were less fortunate than her. People did social work, I suppose, as a profession but for her, it really was something that came from her heart,” said Mathews-Manthata.

“I remember her when she worked at child welfare … she used to place children in different homes of people in our area. She really inspired us. She was not a politician up there [in parliament], she was a politician within society.”

Mathews-Manthata said Madikizela-Mandela could associate with the “lowest of the lowest”.

“Her actions were much louder than anything. She was able to mix with people from different levels of society … so, we’ve really lost someone. As they say, a tree has fallen. Indeed. I want to add that a huge tree has fallen.”

Henry Mazibuko said Madikizela-Mandela was a real “struggler” and he witnessed the suffering she went through during the apartheid era.

“This woman was traumatised. We lived on the same street and all the time we would see the cops raid her house. All of these were happening in front of us and there was nothing we could do.”

He said Madikizela-Mandela did a lot for the community and was an inspiration to everyone. He said her choice to remain in Soweto set her apart from all other politicians, who moved up after the new dispensation.

Leslie Mabasa said he knew her as someone who always tried to help out where she could.

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