Page 20 - English Reader - 6
P. 20
2 Reading Time
Read the following biography and do the activities.
NelsoN MANDelA
Nelson Mandela was born on 18 July 1918, in Mvezo village in South
Africa as the youngest son of his parents
Gadla Henry Mandela and Nosekeni
Nkedema. He was named Rolihlahla by
his father but later in his primary school,
his teacher gave him the name Nelson.
Mandela’s family belonged to the Thembu
tribe and his father Gadla, an imposing
and strict man was an important person
of the tribe.
When Mandela was nine years old his
father died. His mother got worried
about his future. So she took Mandela to
Jongintaba, the head of the Thembu tribe.
Jongintaba and his wife kept, brought up
and educated
Mandela in a very good environment. They treated him as if he was
their own son. It was at the royal homestead that Mandela’s personality,
values and political views were shaped.
Nelson completed his primary schooling at a local mission school and
then he went to Clarkebury Boarding School and then to Healdtown
school from where he completed his matriculation. Then at the age of
21 he enrolled as a student of BA in Forte Hare University. By then he
20 Dolphin English Reader Book 6
