Marriage and family.

During his stay at Sisulu's house, Nelson met Evelyn Mase who also happened to be a nurse.They got married at 1944 and rented a house at 8115 Orlando West (LATER TO BECOME PART OF SOWETO TOWNSHIP). Their first child was named Madiba Thambekile, who was later nicknamed "Thembi".Although Mandela was rarely at home, he enjoyed playing, bathing and feeding his son whenever he got the chance. A year later they got a second child, this time a duaghter named Makaziwe. Unfortunately as i huge tragedy to the family the child died at the age of nine months. Although Mandela was still on apprenticeship they lived of the earnings of the Evelyn.

political beginnings

In 1943 he had his first taste of direct protest when he marched with his friend Gaur and the others in the support of a bus boycott. Mandela found the experience of marching with his people inspiring and was impressed by the effectiveness of the boycott. He was encouraged by Sisulu to join ANC in 1942. ANC was black organisayion founded to develop conditons of Africans. He was affected strongly by Lembede's view about llosing the respect for the Western ideas and the whites need of approval, because he knew he was in danger of becoming one African elite approved of by the British and critisezed by Lembede. Mandela and his colleaques formed the Youth Leaque after realising that the ANC organisation does not reach out to most of Africans. Together with his colleaques, Mandela produced the leaque's manifesto, and in 1947 he was appointed secretary