Modirisi:PiRSquared17/foo
| Tutu House | |
|---|---|
 The Tutu House | |
| General information | |
| Aterese | Vilakazi Street |
| Toropo | Soweto, Johannesburg |
| Lehatshe/naga | South Africa |
The Tutu House is a dwelling located on Vilakazi Street in Soweto, Johannesburg that belongs to Desmond Tutu and his family. The house is located in Soweto and is registered as part of Johannesburg's historical heritage.
Description
[fetola | Fetola Motswedi]Desmond Tutu and his family moved into this house on Vilakazi Street in 1975.[1] Vilakazi Street is said to the only street in the world where two Nobel Laureates have lived.[2] During the time that Tutu lived here he became a Nobel Laureate for his struggles against Apartheid and he led the important Truth and Reconciliation Commission for President Nelson Mandela.[1]
Tutu did not need to live here as he had been offered the dean's residence in the rich white suburb of Houghton, but Tutu was keen not to be seen as an "honorary white" so he lived twelve miles from the centre of the city. Conditions were poor in Soweto which was the largest urban development in South Africa with over a million inhabitants but only one public telephone for every 26,000 inhabitants. Only 15% had electricity and 75% did not have running water when they first moved in. Black Africans were not allowed to own homes in Soweto as they were meant to be see themselves as temporary workers.[3]
The house was extended by the Jo Noero in 1990 who was the same architect who had worked at the Anglican Church in the Transvaal.[2]
Tutu was still living here in October 2011.[1] A blue plaque was installed on the Tutu house in 2011 as part of the Johannesburg heritage trail by what was then called the Simon van de Stel Foundation.[1] Vilahazi Street attracts thousands of tourists since Mandela House was opened to the public in 1997, qucickly becoming a top twenty tourist destination,.[4] The house is not open to the public but the street does have several shops and restaurants.[5]
References
[fetola | Fetola Motswedi]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Tutu House". blueplaques.co.za. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Tutu House gets plaque - 18 Oct 2011". joburg.org.za. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ↑ Gish, Steven D. (2004). Desmond Tutu : a biography (1. publ. ed.). Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Greenwood Press. p. 59. ISBN 0313328609.
- ↑ Fisher, Ian (1999-09-24). "Soweto Journal; Where Apartheid Ruled, Tourists Are Swarming". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E1DE123FF937A1575AC0A96F958260. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ↑ "Vilakazi Street under siege - by snakes". Daily Star. 22 January 2013. http://www.iol.co.za/the-star/vilakazi-street-under-siege-by-snakes-1.1456238. Retrieved 22 July 2013.