Motlalepule Winifred (Winnie) Kgware (née Monyatsi) was born in Thaba Nchu, Orange Free State, on 27 October 1917. She was raised by her aunt in Kroonstad and became a teacher at Thaba Nchu. In 1942, she married a fellow teacher, William Kgware, who later joined the University of the North at Turfloop (currently University of Limpopo) as an academic and eventually became the Turfloop’s first Black Rector in 1977.

Carlos Achadinha was 18 years old when he left the small town of Estreito da Calheta on the island of Madeira, Portugal. Not only did he leave his childhood home behind but also his homeland, when he decided to explore opportunities in South Africa. Carlos left Madeira in 1947 and, like many other Portuguese men who were searching for greener pastures, he travelled by ship to Lourenço Marques (Maputo), the capital of Mozambique. At the time, Mozambique was a Portuguese colony and a key point of entry – legal or illegal – into South Africa.