Dr Shamin Mahabeer, Dr Pravin Thakur (ABH Board Member) and Mr Amraj Dursan (ABH PRO) were recently hosted by Mr Thirunagaren Munsamy, Senior Librarian of the Gandhi-Luthuli Documentation Centre, at the Westville campus of the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal on 3 May 2024.
The authors presented copies of the ABH Centennial Coffee Table Book to the Documentation Centre and for distribution to university archives and historical centres.
The ABH centennial publication was launched at the Durban ICC in January 2023 with former President Thabo Mbeki as the invited guest, with a secondary launch at the ABH on 25 March 2023. It was commissioned by the ABH Board to acknowledge and celebrate the centenary milestone of the Home. The publication takes the reader on a visual odyssey of the organization since inception in 1921 over the ensuing decades through to 2021. It is crafted in a chronological style that describes the foundations and evolution through the decades and documents the impact of apartheid and its harsh relocation policies. It is currently one of South Africa’s largest registered Non-Profit and Public Benefit organisations. It also documents the historical perspective of the institution, its art heritage through the decades, and delineates a sustainable footprint for the future.
It is endorsed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, former President Thabo Mbeki, The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, The Nelson Mandela Foundation, Dr Krishna Somers Charitable Trust, The Victor Daitz Foundation, KwaZulu Natal Department of Social Development and the global cinema icon, Mr Amitabh Bachchan. The book is dedicated to Dr Shishupal Rambharos, Honorary Life President of the ABH who created a legacy spanning 80 years of service to the organisation. He was instrumental in developing strategic, operational and functional elements for the care of the vulnerable in society.
The organization is hopeful that the donation of this meticulously researched book to various academic libraries and institutes throughout the province will serve as a valuable resource to assist and educate their readers and the general on the long journey of a community-based institution that has grown in stature through a century of existence.
Books presented to Mr Munsamy were for distribution to:
- UKZN SPECIAL COLLECTIONS:
Gandhi Luthuli Documentation Centre
Alan Paton Struggle Archives
Dr Killie Campbell Collection
Centre for African Literacy.
- The E G Malherbe Library
- UKZN Pietermaritzburg Library
Dr Pravin Thakur and Dr Shamin Mahabeer present the ABH Coffee Table Book to Mr Thirunagaren Munsamy