By Dinosaur Communications
Brigalia Bam will on Friday July 3, 2015 make another contribution to literature and democracy with her new autobiography titled .
Formally educated in South Africa and abroad, Bam specializes in teaching, social work, communications and management.
Born in the former Transkei, in the Eastern Cape Province, Dr. Bam is a qualified social worker with a post-graduate degree from the University of Chicago.
In the 1980s Bam worked for the Women’s Workers Programme that was part of the International Food and Allied Workers Association in Geneva.
She has co-ordinated the World YMCA International Training Institute and Programme, as well as its affiliate, the Development for Human Rights.
Dr. Bam worked as the general secretary for the South African Council of Churches between 1997 and 1998.
She was also founding member of the Women’s Development Foundation and became the foundation’s president in 1998.
Bam has been a board member of the Matla Trust as well as the SABC.
Since 1999, she was appointed by former president Nelson Mandela to be the chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa. She headed the IEC for 10 years.
In an extract of her latest book 'Democracy, More than Just Elections' made available by the South African, Sunday Times newspaper recently, she reveals how she got to know Nelson Mandela.
"My relationship with Madiba had come a long way. I had known him since 1955. I met him in Johannesburg when I was a student at the Jan Hofmeyr School of Social Work. In my first year I got to know Winnie Madikizela and Marcia Finca, who were in their second year but who were from my part of the world (the Transkei).
They welcomed me as a “home girl” and we became friends. They showed me the ways of Joburg. One day, Winnie invited us to go with her to certain lawyers’ offices in town. Oliver Tambo was from her town in the Transkei, Bizana, and she wanted to pay him a courtesy call.
Buti (brother) Oliver Tambo received us warmly but seemed very reserved. Then in walked this tall, rather attractive person with a very fashionable parting in his hair. We all looked at him. He wanted to know who we were and where we came from, and offered us tea. We were feeling coy and shy. We ate lemon cream biscuits – the first time I had tasted them as I couldn’t afford them! We were fascinated with that name: Rolihlahla. We never called him Nelson. He was Buti Rolihlahla."
Brigalia Bam will on Friday July 3, 2015 make another contribution to literature and democracy with her new autobiography titled .
Formally educated in South Africa and abroad, Bam specializes in teaching, social work, communications and management.
Born in the former Transkei, in the Eastern Cape Province, Dr. Bam is a qualified social worker with a post-graduate degree from the University of Chicago.
In the 1980s Bam worked for the Women’s Workers Programme that was part of the International Food and Allied Workers Association in Geneva.
She has co-ordinated the World YMCA International Training Institute and Programme, as well as its affiliate, the Development for Human Rights.
Dr. Bam worked as the general secretary for the South African Council of Churches between 1997 and 1998.
She was also founding member of the Women’s Development Foundation and became the foundation’s president in 1998.
Bam has been a board member of the Matla Trust as well as the SABC.
Since 1999, she was appointed by former president Nelson Mandela to be the chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa. She headed the IEC for 10 years.
In an extract of her latest book 'Democracy, More than Just Elections' made available by the South African, Sunday Times newspaper recently, she reveals how she got to know Nelson Mandela.
"My relationship with Madiba had come a long way. I had known him since 1955. I met him in Johannesburg when I was a student at the Jan Hofmeyr School of Social Work. In my first year I got to know Winnie Madikizela and Marcia Finca, who were in their second year but who were from my part of the world (the Transkei).
They welcomed me as a “home girl” and we became friends. They showed me the ways of Joburg. One day, Winnie invited us to go with her to certain lawyers’ offices in town. Oliver Tambo was from her town in the Transkei, Bizana, and she wanted to pay him a courtesy call.
Buti (brother) Oliver Tambo received us warmly but seemed very reserved. Then in walked this tall, rather attractive person with a very fashionable parting in his hair. We all looked at him. He wanted to know who we were and where we came from, and offered us tea. We were feeling coy and shy. We ate lemon cream biscuits – the first time I had tasted them as I couldn’t afford them! We were fascinated with that name: Rolihlahla. We never called him Nelson. He was Buti Rolihlahla."
Her other works include, 1971 What is Ordination Coming To?; 1979 New Perspectives for Third World Women; 1986 Priorities for Women in South Africa in Speaking of faith: cross-cultural perspectives on women, religion and social change; 1994 Women Voices Worldwide; 1998 All about Eve: Women of Africa in Anglicanism: A Global Communion.
Dr. Bam has been awarded with the 1999 Order of Simon of Cyrene; the Order of the Baobab in Silver; 2000 The SAWW Award and the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation 2013.
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