Page 25 - Number 2 2021 Volume 74

Gertrude Rubadiri’s Story 13

The Nationalist, Teacher, Devoted Wife and Mother
Abstract template – Gertrude Rubadiri’s Story

Lindiwe Rubadiri-Mujugira and Victoria Rubadiri

Professor David and Gertrude Rubadiri

The Well.
This article focuses on the legacy that Gertrude Mabel Olive Rubadiri
left behind through the inspiring example of her life through the lens of her
daughter, Lindiwe Rubadiri-Mujugira and her eldest grand-daughter, Victoria
Rubadiri.
In the olden days, women went to the well not only to collect water but
also to connect with each other. Hard work though it was, they looked forward to
those encounters. They talked about the events of the day and the progress of their
families. They shared, they laughed and cried together.
Gertrude Rubadiri, or Mama G, as she was affectionately called, was
th
such a ‘well’ to many. Born on March 8 , 1927, in the beautiful hills of
Livingstonia, Malawi, to Margaret and Leonard Uzanda, she was the first born in
her family. She had a younger sister, Alice, and a brother Francis.
As a well she was a provider, a mother, a teacher, a mentor, and wore
several other hats. Her pathway to becoming a teacher to students across the world
started as she worked her way through her education in Zimbabwe and South
Africa. Hope Fountain and Marian Hill were the schools that provided the
foundation of learning that she received before she went to Fort Hare University
and completed her degree in home economics and her teaching certification.
Gertrude Uzanda became Gertrude Rubadiri when she met and married
Professor James David Rubadiri. Both were freedom fighters as they fought for