Page 51 - SCAT Rural Voice II - 35 Stories for 35 Years

INTeRcHURcH
LocaL deveLopment agencY (iLda)
The automotive hub of the eastern cape, Uitenhage, is situated 38 km from Port elizabeth and 30 kilometers from the Indian Ocean. In the 80s Uitenhage became a centre for resistance against apartheid. On the 21 March 1985, police opened fire on a funeral procession in Langa, killing at least 20 people, in an event that became notorious as an example of police oppression in apartheid south Africa. The event dubbed the Langa and Uitenhage massacre spurred nationwide protests and led to the apartheid state declaring a state of emergency.1
In 2001 Uitenhage was incorporated with Port Elizabeth and Despatch into the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality.2 The current population recorded in the 2011 census is 103,639, 55% who identify as coloured, 24% as Black African and 18% White. Afrikaans is the most widely spoken language (68%) followed by isiXhosa (18%) and english (10%).3
The Inter-church Local Development Agency (ILDA) was founded by Molly Blackburn, Bishop Michael coleman, Judy chalmers and other community leaders as a direct response to the Langa massacre. Initially its main objective was obtaining legal assistance for those affected along with offering support to families looking for missing relatives. These days they offer paralegal services and are currently championing the development and introduction of the Asset Based community Development Approach in the eastern cape.
1. Robert J. Thornton. “The shooting at Uitenhage, south Africa, 1985: the context and interpretation of violence”, American ethnologist 17(2), (1990).|Nigel Worden. The making of modern south Africa: conquest, segregation and apartheid. Juta & co. Ltd. south Africa (1994)
2. southAfrica.com | Uitenhage, south Africa. (2019) Retrieved October 10, 2019, from https://www.southafrica.com/regions/ eastern-cape-2/uitenhage/
3. Frith, A. (2019) census 2011: Main Place: Uitenhage. Retrieved October 4, 2019, from https://census2011.adrianfrith.com/ place/299003
FAst FACTS
NaMe: Interchurch Local Development Agency (ILDA)
LeD By: Nobuzwe Mofokeng
MaiN cHaLLeNGes faceD By tHe coMMuNity: crime, unemployment, gender based violence
MaiN actiVities: Paralegal support; social injustice; economic empowerment aDDress: 58 constitution Road, Uitenhage
coNtact: 082 463 9107 / 079 210 8870
nmofokeng@hotmail.com; interchurch@webmail.co.za
Access to Justice
49