Acting chief of Mvezo, Nolusapho Mandela, said her son Nkosi Mandla Mandela visited Sweden last year where he sold statues of his grandfather to raise R3 million.

He worked in collaboration with the Thanda Foundation.

During the recent Nelson Mandela birthday celebrations in the village, Mandla handed the R3 million cheque to President Jacob Zuma.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga pledged to match the donation and contribute a further R3 million towards the school.

For villagers like Nodazini Takana, news of the new school is welcome, and she called on authorities to prioritise the project.

Takana is a mother of eight children, all of whom had to drop out of school after completing Grade 9. Mvezo only has a junior secondary school that does not go beyond Grade 9.

Those who want to complete their high school education, have to go to Dalindyebo High School in nearby Sithebe location.

Takana said her last born, Nokuthembela Takana, dropped out of school last year.

“I wish they will finish it soon. I want my daughter to go back to school, at least to have one child who has passed matric,” she said.

Songezo Kholobile, 28, said he dreamt of becoming a police officer as a young boy.

But like many other children, he, too, dropped out of school because his family could not afford to send him away to finish high school.

“If there was a high school, at least I would have passed Grade 12,” he said.

Asked how he spends his days, Kholobile said there was “nothing much to do here except play soccer”.

“I spend most of my time with friends.”

A teacher at Mvezo Junior Secondary School, Thozama Gudula, claimed that more than 70 percent of pupils who passed Grade 9 at the school did not further their studies.

“We are happy that there are plans to build the high school, it is indeed good news.”

Besides a high school, the remote village just outside Mthatha has no clinic and the road is in a bad state. Locals say they do not have access to clean water, either.

Nolusapho Mandela said there were also plans to build a clinic and a bridge.

Regarding the clinic, she said construction work was expected to start in the first week of August.

“There is a steering committee that has been elected to monitor all the projects.”

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has also come on board to help the people of Mvezo.

“They have already brought material for renovating a dipping tank and will plough gardens for villagers to grow vegetables.”

Meanwhile, artist Athol Moult, with help from pupils from Mvezo Junior Secondary School, painted World Cup canvases signed by Nelson Mandela himself.

Moult is hoping to raise a substantial amount of money, which will be ploughed back into the community.

“The funds of the artwork will be going back to Mvezo, with the plan of introducing running water, because there is no clean water, there is no infrastructure there.

“The money will also be used to sort out the issue of the high school and contribute towards building a clinic,” he said.