South Africa: Identity Crisis — The Eastern Cape foundation helping the forgotten get their identity papers and their humanity
Published: 2/Jun/2026
Source: Daily Maverick (South Africa)
In the remote, rural regions of Elliotdale, Eastern Cape, the Nosintu Gwebindlala Foundation is combating generational statelessness by ‘walking the journey’ of securing IDs and birth certificates with residents.
By Tamsin Metelerkamp
In the deep rural regions of Elliotdale in the Eastern Cape, the struggle for basic documentation can span generations. Without birth certificates and identity documents (IDs), grandparents and young children alike are entirely cut off from the state’s social welfare safety net.
On a mission to bridge this gap for stateless residents is Nosintu Gwebindlala, the founder of the Nosintu Gwebindlala Foundation. The wife of Chief Vuyani Zwelikhanyile Gwebindlala — senior traditional leader of the Jalamba Traditional Council — she leverages her community ties to tackle the crisis, having learned to treat every complex case she takes on as unique.
Her role in traditional leadership means she has long served as a problem-solver for the local people, but when she launched her foundation in 2022, she soon realised that one of its main focus areas needed to be the large number of undocumented community members in the area.
“People think that documents are … accessible to all, and from a rural perspective, there are many different issues that lead to people being undocumented,” explained Gwebindlala.
“In some cases it’s historical, generational — a case of the generation before, or two or three generations, never having the documentation — and, unfortunately, those [family members] are no longer there. They’ve all passed on … but the child is here, living.”