Klenerman, Fanny, 1916-1983, interviews, audio cassettes

The roots of the Koinonia movement lay in the South African Christian Leadership Assembly (1979) and in the meal groups organized by Dr Nico Smith, a Dutch Reformed minister, when he went to minister to a black congregation in Mamelodi in 1982. The Koinonia movement in South Africa began in Pretoria in 1986 when Dr Nico Smith challenged a group of concerned white Christians in Pretoria to initiate a movement that would bring about reconciliation between the alienated races in Apartheid South Africa. Koinonia South Africa came into being as a result of this challenge, and the Rev. Ivor Jenkins was appointed as its first full-time national coordinator. Initial funding came from the Swiss-based organization, Christian Solidarity International.

Koinonia is a Greek word meaning "fellowship" and this was the central tenet of Koinonia's mission - to encourage "fellowship" between white and non-white Christians. The effort centered on the "meal group" concept - small, racially mixed groups would meet in each others' homes to share a meal and thus begin to break down the barriers that had grown up between the races.

Theologically, Koinonia was predicated on the belief that justice, equality and reconciliation are central tenets of Christianity, and that each individual needed to be treated with dignity and respect irrespective of race. Politically, Koinonia was dedicated to the pursuit of a non-racial, democratic dispensation for all the peoples of South Africa.

The records in this collection reflect the workings of Koinonia throughout South Africa and abroad as it sought to achieve the following aims:

On the spiritual level, to integrate believers of all races into one body

On the family level, to promote the practice of fellowship and mutual support

On the leadership level, to facilitate cooperation between religious leaders of the different race groups

On the social-structural level, to explore non-violent means of effecting reconciliation

On the ideological level, to address the problems faced by the oppressed on the basis of Christian principles

Nonseng Ellen Kate Kuzwayo was born on the 29th of June 1914. She grew up on her grandfather’s farm in Thaba Nchu and inherited the farm in 1930 but lost it when it was declared a “white area”. She was a campaigner against Apartheid in South Africa and a fighter for women’s emancipation; she was a teacher, social worker and community leader.

She refused to work with government agencies, collaborating instead with voluntary organizations such as the YWCA, where she held the position of General Secretary in the Transvaal Region 1964, working with women in deprived communities. After the Soweto uprising in June 1976 and the arrest and killing of many young people, Soweto residents chose ten persons to study the role of members of the Local Councils who were cooperating with the apartheid regime. Ellen Kuzwayo and nine men were selected to the Committee of Ten but all ten members of the Committee were arrested by the police and detained without trial. Ellen Kuzwayo was detained at the Johannesburg Fort' Women’s Jail for five months.

Her activities included being President of the Black Consumers’ Union and serving on the Executive Committee of the Urban Foundation. She has published "Call me Woman" (1985), "Sit and Listen: Stories from South Africa" (1996) and "Tsiamelo - a place of goodness" (1984). Ellen Kuzwayo was honored by the Johannesburg City Council and on the 2nd of April 1987 she became the first black woman to receive an Honorary degree from the University of the Witwatersrand. In 1994 she was appointed an African National Congress (ANC) member of parliament and retired after five years in 1999, receiving the State Order of Meritorious Service.

She died on the 19th of April 2006 at the age of 91, survived by her sons Bobo and Justice Moloto, six grandchildren and three great-grand children.