In the 1960s black citizens were forcefully removed from the suburb of Lady Selbourne in Pretoria to Mamelodi, Ga-Rankuwa and Atteridgeville.

Anti-apartheid activist Reverend Nico Smith preached in Mamelodi from 1982 to 1989, and obtained permission to live there himself from 1985 to 1989.

Mamelodi is home to the largest AIDS Hospice Center in South Africa with 140 beds available free of charge.

One of them is Tateni Community Care Services, funded in 1995, which operates 10 Drop-in Centres, mostly in primary schools, to support young children.

The Mamelodi Initiative, was founded in 2007 by Richard Kelly and Seikanelo Sedibane and it was launched in 2010, it focuses on providing after-school and out-of-school time programming to Mamelodi residents through winter and summer holiday programmes, year-round computer courses, youth mentoring, and other opportunities for youth.The Itsoseng Clinic was established in 1995 and continues to deliver a comprehensive psychological service to the local residents.

The community has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, like looting during strikes and destruction of public properties with the aim to get the attention of the government to speed up service delivery.

Viva works to support orphans and vulnerable children, as well as giving community members business and skills training.

Viva's Mamelodi compound is host to a preschool, small store, kitchen, and safe house for orphans.

Viva has also worked to produce a "living art gallery" by painting several homes surrounding the compound.