mission

The Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College (SOMAFCO) was a state of the art educational institution established in Mazimbu, near Morogoro, Tanzania initially on a 250ha piece of land, an old sisal farm, that later grew to a complex infrastructure situated on 1,000ha, donated by the Tanzanian government to the ANC.

Conceived as a model ANC political school during the early 70’s, the school was renamed after Solomon Mahlangu shortly after his execution in 1979, and formally operated for just over 10 years, its first enrolment beginning in 1978 and continuing until just after 1989.

In 1992, the ANC formally handed over the school to the Tanzanian government in a ceremony officiated over by Oliver Tambo and President Hassan Mwinyi of Tanzania.

• “prepare cadres to serve the national struggle of the people of South Africa in the phase of the struggle for seizure of political power and the post liberation phase”; and
• “produce such cadres as will be able to serve the society in all fields i.e. political, economic, socio-cultural, educational and scientific”.

The school was thus designed to develop men and women with not only a high quality educational capacity but a deep political awareness in order for them to contribute to the liberation effort and the development of a post liberation democratic South Africa in as many spheres as possible.

This dual approach to instruction was implemented though an academic curriculum for mathematics, English and natural sciences accredited and examined by the London General Certificate of Examinations (GCE) board, while the curriculum for history, literature and geography was designed and examined by the ANC’s own exam board.

In addition, a rich and diverse set of activities, for example regular newspaper readings and discussions, was instituted. Advanced and even boldly experimental teaching pedagogies were implemented. The school also provided for an excellent early childhood development programme in a nursery and preschool equipped to the highest standards and with highly trained teachers, drawing from such leading programmes from around the world.

By 1984 a distance education programme sponsored by the Commonwealth through the South African extension unit in Dar-es-Salaam was introduced catering for adult education and literacy.
Learners

Some of learners in exile who were studying at SOMAFCO and other parts of ANC communities were referred to as the Masupatsela a Walter Sisulu, or “Pioneers of Walter Sisulu”, named after one of the icons of the struggle. Towards the end by 1989 the nursery school had an enrolment of 140, the primary school had some 350 learners and about 500 learners in secondary school. The learners themselves comprised chiefly the children of ANC exiles and towards the latter years a flood of young exiles from South Africa. A number of the learners were orphans having lost one or both their parents in the struggle.

Some of learners in exile who were studying at SOMAFCO and other parts of ANC communities were referred to as the Masupatsela a Walter Sisulu, or “Pioneers of Walter Sisulu”, named after one of the icons of the struggle.

Towards the end by 1989 the nursery school had an enrolment of 140, the primary school had some 350 learners and about 500 learners in secondary school. The learners themselves comprised chiefly the children of ANC exiles and towards the latter years a flood of young exiles from South Africa. A number of the learners were orphans having lost one or both their parents in the struggle.

This community forged close relations and boasted a teaching contingent comprising of people from as far a field as Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Norway, Finland, Sweden and the U.K. and other volunteer teachers came from fellow African countries.

The school began its first lessons in 1978 and although initially conceived as a secondary school, soon became a day care centre, nursery/preschool, and an adult education centre.

By 1992 a sprawling array of supporting facilities had been built at both Mazimbu and at an additional 300ha tract in Dakawa; including the Ruth First Education orientation Centre, the Dakawa Vocational Training Centre, the Dakawa Arts Centre, two libraries, two primary and nursery schools, day care centres, boarding accommodation, youth centres and sports fields.

The two ANC settlements had an infrastructure of running water, electricity, sewage disposal and a road network. The construction and maintenance of these facilities, including nearly a thousand dwellings, were the ongoing work of the ANC’s planning and construction departments.

By 1989 the college had ceased to be just a boarding school, soon encompassing a broader community surrounding it that accommodated some 1 000 students and a population of up to 5,000 black South Africans, who had been expelled from Mozambique and Angola, after South Africa and Mozambique signed the Nkomati Accord in 1984.

In creating a model community focusing not just on education but on social services and economic production, a number of self-reliance activities were also set up by the ANC, the main thrust being agriculture and small scale industry.

Amongst the projects servicing the school were two farms that by 1984 included a dairy of 100 thoroughbred cows, a beef herd of 400 cattle, piggery of 600 pigs with 100 breeding sows, a poultry unit with 3,000 layers and 5,000 broilers and 400 ha under crops.

Medical facilities built included a 16-bed hospital and two clinics that served the exile community as well as surrounding villages. In addition a host of small industries were developed including a garment factory, leather and shoe factory, carpentry and furniture factory, and various workshops including tailoring, electrical, welding, motor mechanics and general maintenance.

The Nordic States, various other European and African countries, as well as organs of the United Nations, especially UNESCO, provided the funds and other assistance towards the establishment of the infrastructure at SOMAFCO.