Page 30 - Forbes - Africa (March 2020)

‘POWER IS PROVOKING

POSITIVE

IMPACT’

Graça Machel’s name will be etched in history as a political activist, public servant, global
humanitarian and advocate for the rights of women and children. Dressed in a regal purple
suit, and sporting a chic new look and hairdo, she arrives for an exclusive FORBES AFRICA

photoshoot late January, in a studio in a leafy suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa.
With an alluring aura and a disarming “hello”, she puts the team at ease, and shares her
personal odyssey including her journey as a social entrepreneur through the Graça Machel
Trust that she founded. Excerpts from the interview:

You were born in 1945, the youngest of six children. What butIsaid,‘letmegiveitatry’.Itbecamethebestoptionbecause[my]
was it like growing up? horizonsbroadenedexponentiallyandIwasevenable to find new
Iwasbornthreeweeksaftermyfatherpassedaway,andmymother waystoconnectwiththeliberationmovement.
wasawidowatthetime,butIam[fortunateas]itwasalwaysavery
lovingenvironment.Iwasgivensolidfoundationstoprovidemewith Itwaswhenyouwereastudentthatyoubecameamemberofthe
averyclearvaluesystem.Ihadtheguidance,eveninthoseolddays, MozambiqueLiberationFront(FRELIMO).Whatcompelledyou
tobemyselfwithinmyfamily,withinsociety,buttoalsobeachildand tojointhestruggle?
personconnectedtoothers.Myinclinationfor social work comes from ItstartedwhenIwasinsecondaryschool,whenIbegantoask
thefoundationsIreceivedfrommyfamily. thesehardquestions.FromPortugal,Icouldconnecteasierwiththe
FRELIMO:tolearnwhatthemovementisdoingandevenunderstand
Mozambiquewasstillundercolonialrulethen,whichgaveriseto broadlywhataretheobjectivestotakeusintoindependence.It
yourfreedomfighterspirit.Whatwasitlikelivinginthecountry as wasimportantformenottojumptojointheFRELIMOwithout
achildbeforeindependence? understandingexactlywhatitwasabout.Inmysmallcell,wewere
Youareachild,butyouobservewhat’sgoingon.WhenIgotto connectedtothemovementinTanzaniathroughasystem.Information
secondaryschool,IrealizedtherewereyearswhereIwastheonly hadtogothrough France to Algiers, and would eventually get to Dar es
blackchildinaclassof40,andyoubegintoaskhardquestions:‘How Salaam.
isitI’minMozambique,acountrywithamajorityofblackpeopleand
hereIam,theonlyoneinthisschool?’Thenyoucounthowmanyother Youmadeanindeliblemarkinthesphereofeducationin
blackchildrenareinyourclass,forinstance,andyousay,‘no,there’s MozambiqueandSouthAfrica.Whatarethelessonsyoutookwith
somethingwrong!’ youafterrecentlysteppingdownaschancelloroftheUniversityof

For[me],toevengotosecondaryschool,[Ihad]totakeabus.[I] CapeTown(UCT),aroleyouspent20yearsfilling?
hadtowalkkilometersbecause,inthesuburbswhereIwasliving Forme,itwashowdoyouseethetransformation[ofUCT],particularly
withmybrothers,therewasnosecondaryschool.Everythingbegins thefirstyearsoftransformationwhenyouhavechildrenwhoare
tobuildinsideyou,notonlyquestionsbutevenrevolt.Butmypolitical comingfromtheEasternCapewhohardlyspeakEnglish;theywrite
consciencedevelopedandconsolidatedwhenIwenttoLisbon. withdeficiencies,they’veneverseenalibrary,andtheyhavenever
seenacomputer.Todayit’snormal,but20yearsback,itwasnot.Those
What made you study overseas at the University transformativeyears,inthebeginning,gavemegoodlessonsofhowto
of Lisbon, Portugal? dealwithasituationofexclusionandthentheprocessofinclusionat
Inthebeginning,itwasreallybecausewhatIhadchosentostudy thehighestlevelofeducation.
wouldn’tbeavailableattheuniversityinMozambique,whichwasstill Secondly,Iunderstoodmuchbetterthestrugglewehaveasa
veryyoung.Itwasalsothiscuriositytoseetheworlddifferentlyand societyintermsofboysandgirls,youngwomenandyoungmen,
learnmore.Itwasn’teasyemotionallyformetoleavebecauseofthe particularly[howtohavethem]learntoacceptone another as equal.
deep connection I had with my family, particularly with my mother, It’s still going on, and it’s a very tough [issue].

26 | FORBES AFRICA MARCH 2020 FORBESAFRICA.COM