In the remote, rural regions of Elliotdale, Eastern Cape, the Nosintu Gwebindlala Foundation is combating generational statelessness by \u2018walking the journey\u2019 of securing IDs and birth certificates with residents.<\/p>\n
By Tamsin Metelerkamp<\/p>\n
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\u2019s social welfare safety net.<\/p>\n
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 \u2014 senior traditional leader of the Jalamba Traditional Council \u2014 she leverages her community ties to tackle the crisis, having learned to treat every complex case she takes on as unique.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople think that documents are \u2026 accessible to all, and from a rural perspective, there are many different issues that lead to people being undocumented,\u201d explained Gwebindlala.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn some cases it\u2019s historical, generational \u2014 a case of the generation before, or two or three generations, never having the documentation \u2014 and, unfortunately, those [family members] are no longer there. They\u2019ve all passed on \u2026 but the child is here, living.\u201d<\/p>\n