Mamelodi, part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is a township set up by the then apartheid government northeast of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
Etymology
"Mamelodi" is the name derived from the Sepedi word with the prefix being "ma" meaning mother, and the suffix "melodi" meaning melodies. Its meaning can be translated to mean Mother of Melodies.
History
The township was established when 16 houses were built on the farm Vlakfontein in June 1953 and later the name changed to Mamelodi. The Group Areas Act designated Mamelodi as a blacks-only area, though this became moot with the fall of Apartheid in 1994. In the 1960s black citizens were forcefully removed from the suburb of Lady Selbourne in Pretoria to Mamelodi, Ga-Rankuwa and Atteridgeville. Anti-apartheid activist Reverend Nico Smith preached in Mamelodi from 1982 to 1989, and obtained permission to live there himself from 1985 to 1989. During that period, he and his wife Ellen were the only whites legally allowed to live in Mamelodi. The township still has vastly more blacks than any other group as of 2010.
Since 2001 Mamelodi has had a large AIDS outreach program helping several thousand orphans in the community. Mamelodi is home to the largest AIDS Hospice Center in South Africa with 140 beds available free of charge.
Education
Primary schools
Moretele Primary School
Agnes Chidi Primary School
Dr Monare Primary School
Mveledzo Primary School
Sikhanyisele Primary School
Meetse A Bophelo Primary School
Mogale Primary School
Bula-Dikgoro School
Ramahlale Primary School
Bajabulile Primary School
Pula-difate Primary School
Tlakukani Primary School
F.F. Ribeiro Primary School
N'wavangani Primary School
Mahlasedi Masana Primary School
Boikganthso Primary School
Motheo Primary School
Zakhele Primary school
Botlhabatsatsi Primary School
Zamintuthuko Primary School
Umthombo Primary School
Ezazi Primary School
Tshimollo Primary School
Ndima Primary School
Sindawonye Primary School
Pheladi Nakene Primary School
Agnes Chidi Primary School
Koos Matli Primary School
Dr I.M Monare Primary School
Uaone Primary school
Mahube Valley Primary School
Shirinda Primary School
Emthunzini Primary School
legora primary school
Secondary and High Schools
Mamelodi Secondary School
Tsako-Thabo Secondary School
Stanza Bopape Secondary School
Vukani Mawethu Secondary School
Vlakfontein Secondary School
Bona Lesedi Secondary School
Gatang Secondary School
Jafta Mahlangu Secondary School
Solomon Mahlangu Secondary School
Rephafukgile Secondary School
Mahube Valley Secondary School
Ribane Laka High School
Modiri Technical High School
Lehlabile High School
J.Kekana High School
Phateng Comprehensive School
LESEDI
Tertiary Education
Tshwane North TVET College has 6 campuses, one of which is based in the east of Mamelodi in the section called BufferZone, next to Mamelodi Day Hospital. It used to be called Thuto Matlhale, then changed to Mamelodi College and now known after the merge as TNC Mamelodi Campus.
The University of Pretoria operates a campus in Mamelodi. The campus in Mamelodi was incorporated from Vista University into the University of Pretoria on 2 January 2004 as part of a government reshuffle of smaller institutions into larger ones.
The U.S. Embassy operates the Mae Jemison Science Reading Room in Mamelodi. This stand-alone building on the University of Pretoria campus has a small library, computers, and an auditorium. It is used for after-school reading, tutoring, and other activities by students in Mamelodi.