“Take Action. Inspire Change. Make Every Day a Mandela Day,” is the slogan for this year’s Mandela Day.
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Mandela Day, was first introduced on 18 July 2009, the former Nelson Mandela’s birthday, its aim is to persuade people to contribute 67 minutes of their time to make the world a better place.
International Nelson Mandela Day 2011 was launched on 23 May at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Houghton, Johannesburg. The ceremony involved tertiary students who marked the occasion by expressing their views on what the celebration means to them. According to mediaclubsouthafrica.com, the launch garnered such widespread media attention due in part to popular South African rapper JR’s new song dedicated to Mandela Day, ‘See you in July’.
It is said that, when Sello Hatang, the Mandela Foundation’s spokesperson, asked students to speak about Mandela.Day and how it should be celebrated,Mandela’s grandson, Luvuyo Mandela, mentioned that as a family they have always celebrated his gradfather’s birthday in their home town of Umtata, Qunu in the Eastern Cape, by making food parcels so they can allocate to them less fortunate. Another youth, Raymond Ntlozi, explained that he honours Mandela Day by volunteering and funraising at children’s home in Zuurbekom, southwest Johannesburg.
Mediaclubsouthafrica.com states that, Breadline Africa, a South African-based NGO, has partnered with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the NYK Helping Hand Scheme to offer a mobile library to a primary school in all nine provinces of South Africa as part of this year’s Mandela Day celebrations.
This year, NYK contributed R500 000 to the project for Mandela Day. Each library container costs nearly R90 000 to convert and renovate.
Tim Smith, director of Breadline Africa is quoted saying, “we buy sturdy, water-tight containers at a low cost and transform them into mobile structures, which we can use to feed, educate or use as a clinic. Our projects try to establish a level of self-sustainability within the community.”
From 6 June, people haven been encouraged to participate every Monday by giving back to the next person, the community or the environment for Mandela Mondays. People can take as little as five minutes out of their lives for this activity!
So how are YOU honouring the spirit of community service this Mandela Monday? Let us know by leaving a comment here or on our Facebook page.
As reported in the Sunday Times, the Nelson Mandela Foundation has announced plans to launch a programme that address the shortage of guidance and support for young people. The Champion Within programme will address the pressing need for formal training in critical thinking for South Africa’s young People. Their recipe for success in built upon the approach that they will support youngsters who are already making strides towards a better life. The key is to harness the existing potential for success by identifying independent thinkers who, in spite of social pressures to buy into a culture of anti-intellectualism, pursue lofty academic and professional goals. The programme is estimated to cost 5.6 million ZAR and funding will be an issue according to Life College founder Pat Pillai. However, organisers stress that raising the funds is a hurdle that can and will be surmounted and should not be a factor that precludes students from participating.
