Zoleka Mandela, granddaughter of the late President Nelson Mandela, is a breast cancer survivor, author, global advocate and campaigner.

Mandela is the founder of the Zoleka Mandela Foundation, a social upliftment foundation which was established in 2013. The foundation aims to educate people about breast cancer, road safety and social responsibilities. The foundation also seeks to assist young people with personal growth, volunteerism and accountability.

Mandela served as Ambassador for the Child Health Initiative (CHI) and its advocacy campaign, leading a global call to action for adolescent health. She currently campaigns as a leading advocate for action on road traffic injury and traffic safety in memory of her daughter Zenani Mandela, who was killed in a road crash in Johannesburg aged just 13.

Mandela has also campaigned globally on cancer and NCDs with the Union of International Cancer Control (UICC) and NCD Alliance. Her campaigning achievements have been recognized by the United Nations Millennium Campaign and the United Nations Development Program, and she has addressed the UN General Assembly on her campaign issues.

Mandela is inspired by her grandfather, Nelson Mandela, her grandmother Winne Mandela, and her family to campaign for humanitarian causes as a committed social activist. Following the legacy of her grandparents, she is a passionate supporter of civil rights and women’s empowerment.

Mandela is a breast cancer survivor herself and has battled many addictions to drugs and alcohol, and has struggled with sexual abuse, as she detailed in her autobiography, When Hope Whispers, in 2013. In sharing her story, she hopes that her life will inspire people to follow many of their dreams despite life’s frequent ebbs and expected flows.

In 2016, Mandela was chosen as one of the BBC’s 100 Women and she is a United Nations global ambassador on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and child health.

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