The presence of ubuntu is still widely referenced in South Africa, more than two decades after the end of apartheid. It’s a compact term from the Nguni languages of Zulu and Xhosa that carries a fairly broad English definition of “a quality that includes the essential human virtues of compassion and humanity”.

Is ubuntu still alive?

South Africa’s spirit of ubuntu remains intact‚ with 88% of people still giving in spite of tough economic times.

What does ubuntu mean in South Africa?

In fact, the word ubuntu is just part of the Zulu phrase “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”, which literally means that a person is a person through other people. … Ubuntu has its roots in humanist African philosophy, where the idea of community is one of the building blocks of society.