essay about make every day a mandela day

Mandela Day Essay

Mines take action and inspire change on Mandela Day Mandela Day is more than a celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy; it is a global movement to honour his life’s work and act to change the world for the better. Coal South Africa once again lent its full support to the initiative and – in deeds great and small – heeded the call to simply do good. Here’s a rundown on what our mines did: Kleinkopje spent the morning at the Witbank Tuberculosis Hospital where heads of department and section heads painted a new ceiling the operation had earlier installed in the children’s ward. Other members of the team played educational games with little ones and these were donated to the ward to keep young patients entertained during their recovery. Kriel Colliery made its presence felt when employees went out to provide comfort and cheer to young and old. The first stop was a call to orphanages in Thubelihle, Rietspruit and Kriel where they handed out Mandela cup cakes and energy packs to the kids. The older generation was catered for with the donation of 110 blankets accompanied by 20 wheelchairs and walking sticks. Winter is an especially trying time for the elderly and destitute and Kriel staff ensured that they benefitted from a large supply of blankets and food. An additional task was the delivery of …show more content…

They not only painted parts of the facility, but helped install jungle gyms, see saws, noticeboards and bookshelves. Old tyres and conveyor belting were incorporated into the much-improved playground, and the mine significantly boosted the Injabulo Early Childhood Development Centre’s resources with the donation of items like sleeping mats, tables, chairs and curtains. Children were also given building blocks and sweetie buckets to round off a very satisfying

Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival Event Analysis

I met with two other students at the festival entrance to assist in receiving canned food donations. We also provided coupons for the food donations as well as expressing a positive interest and thankfulness on behalf of the food bank. Food donations were boxed and stacked for collection at the end of the event for easy transport back to the food bank warehouse. Monetary donations were also accepted on behalf of the food bank during the collection event.

Apartheid Dbq Essay

The National party supported and enforced Apartheid, because it provided them with absolute power and political dominance in South African society. The National Party and whites who supported them believed in white superiority, and utilized apartheid laws as physical evidence that they were “superior”. In March of 1948 the National party released a statement which explained that Apartheid was necessary as it would be in the best interest of every race, and it was the only way to prevent a national suicide for whites (Doc 1). Because the National Party was white, and prioritized white superiority, they wanted to retain their power using Apartheid laws. For example, one discriminatory law the government imposed were pass laws, which stated Black South Africans had to carry passes which authorized their presence in white areas.

Trail Of Hope For Civil Rights Essay

The Trail of Hope for Civil Rights Judgement; noun, to make decisions or come to a conclusion. Judgement is a big part of society. Especially throughout the fight towards the civil rights movement. Court cases a big part of the civil rights movement. They showed us all of the issues, that were either disregarded because of different races, or in the case of Brown v. Board, it was the start of of de-segregation.

Essay On African American Incarceration

Is it fair that an African American man is sentenced up to life in prison for possession of drugs when Brock Turner is sentenced to only 14 years, later to be reduced to six months for sexually assaulting an unconscious women. The judiciary system are believed to have a high african american incarceration rate as a result of discrimination. At a presidential debate on Martin Luther King Day, President Barack Obama said that “Blacks and whites are arrested at very different rates, are convicted at very different rates, and receive very different sentences… for the same crime.” Hillary Clinton said the “disgrace of a criminal-justice system that incarcerates so many more african americans proportionately than whites.”

Essay On African American Freedom

African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross episode titled “Into the Fire(1861-1896)” underlying theme is freedom--mental freedom versus physical freedom. Within this theme, freedom is loosely described. There is no strict idea of freedom, which is depicted in the documentary. As shown in the documentary, the meaning of freedom was challenged after the Civil war.

The Power Of Words In Elie Wiesel's 'Night'

“The word - is a great instrument of life” Words are the garb of people’s thoughts. Words can be very powerful and influential both in the society and among people, because whether or not someone choose the right words could change someone's life forever. Brilliant examples of power of words took shape in world’s history. A holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, who survived the concentration camp, wrote a book ‘Night’, as well as he introduced his acceptance speech to different people all around the world. He sought to restore the amicable and tolerate society where there is no place for such a word as ‘hate’.

Cesar Chavez Speech Essay

A voice for the muzzled farm workers, a civil rights activist, outspoken about the unfair conditions migrant workers are faced, and inadequate wage given, Cesar Chavez speaks out in his Address in 1984 Commonwealth club of San Francisco. Chavez describes the injustice and unfair conditions farm workers confront on a daily basis, and what the farm workers, as a union the farm workers, must collaborate and do together in order to suppress the companies - growers - unfair conditions. In the speech, Chavez utilizes statistics, testimony, and repetition to not only win justice for the farm workers, but implement the urgent change that needs to happen in the eyes of Americans towards farm workers. The primary purpose of Chavez speech was to gain

Essay On African Americans In Prison

There are more African Americans in prison now, than there were enslaved in 1850. These individuals are not in prison because they are committing more crimes than their white counterparts, but because of a discriminatory system that targets african americans. Blacks can commit the same crimes as whites, but are more likely to be imprisoned and or receive a steeper sentence. This disproportionate racial sentencing has been a growing issue the United States for four decades, and started with the Reagan Administration's War On Drugs. Private prison organizations lobby for harsher punishments, and profit from the influx of inmates.

Selma March Essay

After a fifty mile fight, Selma to Montgomery, African Americans finally reached the finish line, and voting was achievable for all. It was not easy though. After 250 years of slavery the civil war made everyone free. The reconstruction followed, in efforts to make things equal for everyone, but Plessy v. Ferguson was a setback. It started the “separate but equal” concept, and life was segregated for 60 years.

Essay On African Slavery

How big of impact could slavery have done to Africa at least that’s what they said? The slave trade had huge and horrible impact on Africa because it resulted in a tremendous loss of life, Africa has not developed economically as a result of the Slave trade, and Africa still suffers and is unable to provide food and water for its people. Africa had a huge loss of people but to be exact “nearly 90 percent of the Africans in these two major regions came from only four zones in Africa. ”(“The Transatlantic Slave Trade”, para 48) all had to go even against their will 10 million enslaved men, women, and children from West and East Africa to North Africa, the Middle East, and India.

Essay On African American Slavery

Slavery Slavery was a life changing, horrific, and difficult time for the African Americans. They went through several trials daily. They came to America in 1619. Slavery became popular in the American colonies during the 18th century when slavery began to become well known and taken for granted. Slaves worked on tobacco,rice,cotton, and indigo plantations.

Compare And Contrast Mandela And Mahatma Gandhi

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you lived in some other place in the world? Would it be easier to live there or harder? Depending on where you live is a big part of who you are. The thing is, for some it is really easy to be you, but something as simple as what color your skin is can change how you choose to express who you really are. The good thing is there are people like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, who were willing to fight for you.

Literary Analysis Essay On Martin Luther King

Literary analysis essay Martin Luther King Jr. was the base of civil rights. Without him the civil rights movement might have never happened. He did not do it with violence but he did do it with peace. He inspired many other people to follow him and participate in peaceful protests. For example one the most well known protests was tons of people boycotting buses.

Essay On Resistance To Slavery

Many tried to destroy them, but slaves stayed strong and found ways to escape their injustices. The first Africans to reach America landed in Jamestown, the first English settlement in North America. For 250 years, many Africans and African-Americans found ways to resist slavery, ranging from hindrances to violent outbreaks. Resistance to slavery came in many forms. On Southern plantations, some slaves executed small passive acts of resistance, while others ran away.

African Diaspora Essay

Kacie Lee 1/14/17 Tomasetti AP World P.6 ID #16 1. African Diaspora (428-430) The African Diaspora was the dispersion of Africans and their kin. The majority of African slaves went to plantations in the western hemisphere.

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Make Every Day a Mandela Day: Children's, Middle Grade, and Young Adult Books That Take Action and Inspire Change

Kenyanah b..

• Saturday, July 17, 2021

International Nelson Mandela Day is July 18th and celebrates Mandela's legacy as a  human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa.  The Nelson Mandela Foundation and the U.N ask that you spend 67 minutes of your time helping others in honor of Nelson Mandela 67 years of public services. Mandela believed that each individual has the power to transform the world and the ability to make an impact. The book recommended below are fictional and non-fictional examples of children, teens, and young adults taking action to advocate for themselves, their community, and our plant.

Be the Change!

Glimmer of Hope

How I Resist

The Little Book of Little Activists

Sometimes People March

Sofia Valdez, Future Prez

Channel Kindness

It Takes a Village

The Voting Booth

Putting Peace First

Marley Dias Gets It Done - And So Can You!

Walk Toward the Rising Sun

What Can a Citizen Do?

Dress Coded

The Passing Playbook

Eyes Wide Open

Be the Change

Ban This Book

It's Your World--if You Don't Like It, Change It

Ambitious Girl

When We Fight, We Win

This Is My America

This is My America

We Do This 'til We Free Us

How to Change Everything

Be the Change in Your Community

Book Uncle and Me

Book Uncle and Me.

The Youngest Marcher

March. Vol. 02

Long Walk to Freedom

Free As a Bird

Enough is Enough

Come with Me

Memes to Movements

One of the Good Ones

Anger Is a Gift

Anger is a Gift

Can Your Smartphone Change the World?

Can Your Conversation Change the World?

Can Your Outfit Change the World?

One Plastic Bag

Strange Birds

Who Was Nelson Mandela?

Something to Say

Girls Resist!

You Call This Democracy?

The Campaign

Girl Warriors

I Have the Right to Be a Child

Generation Green

Kid Activists

Girl Rising

This Time Will Be Different

Craft Activism

The Hate U Give

Emmanuel's Dream

Be a Changemaker

Harlem's Little Blackbird

Watch Us Rise

Voice of Freedom

I Am Malala

Customer Service Specialist

Make every day a Mandela Day

Mandela Day is an annual international day in honour of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each year on Mandela's birthday, 18 July. By dedicating 67 minutes of their time - one for every year of Mandela's service - people can give back to the world around them and make a contribution to global humanitarianism.

Nelson Mandela has been making an imprint on the world for 67 years, beginning in 1942 when he first started to campaign for the human rights of every South African. His life has been an inspiration to the world, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said.

Mandela said at the time of the campaign’s launch that he would be “honoured if such a day can serve to bring together people around the world to fight poverty and promote peace and reconciliation”.

The Top Employers Institute Africa team is planning to do just that. The team will be dedicating time and resources to make sandwiches to be distributed to people living on the streets in Cape Town.

There are many ways for organisations and individuals to get involved. The Mandela Day official website  provides many ideas, including:

• Put together stationary packs (pens, stickers, coloured paper, scissors, etc.) for teachers at an under-resourced school
• Do a neighbourhood clean-up armed with plastic gloves and black bags
• Volunteer your time at a Haven Night Shelter
• Make ‘care kits’ (including a comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, face cloth, etc.) for patients at a nearby government hospital
• Research an issue you would like to find out more about and then share your findings with friends on social media
• Become an organ donor
• Baby-sit for a single parent
• Volunteer at an animal shelter
• Tutor someone who needs help learning your mother tongue
• Donate your old computer to an under-resourced school

CSR has always been high on the agenda for Top Employers, this includes Mandela Day initiatives. We reached out to some of our Top Employers to find out how they will be celebrating the day:

SAP Mandela Day Inaugural 67-minute VIRTUAL Design Thinking Sprint, an innovative approach to volunteering, to benefit Rays of Hope

With the constraints placed on organisations by the COVID-19 pandemic, SAP Africa has adopted a ground-breaking, innovative, and safe approach to provide employees with a unique volunteering opportunity on Mandela Day 2020. The organisation is hosting, what can be considered, a first Mandela Day 67-minute virtual design thinking sprint. SAP is partnering with the globally recognised Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking at the University of Cape Tow n.  in partnership with Siyafunda Community Technology Centres [hyperlink https://www.siyafundactc.org.za] to deliver the Mandela Day programme.  The design thinking activity will support Rays of Hope , based in Alexandra, Johannesburg, in close proximity to SAP offices.  As design thinking is both an ideology and a process, concerned with solving complex problems in a highly user-centric way, SAP employees will be called upon to utilise their knowledge, experience and skills to assist Rays of Hope to address the following challenge “ How can Rays of Hope enable Alex youth to thrive in a world where Covid-19 has deepened the inequality gap?”

SAP Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Alexandra Van der Ploeg said that “SAP’s aspirational goal is to create a significant and sustainable social impact in three core areas:

• Building digital Skills
• Powering best-run Non-Governmental Organisations & Social Enterprises, and
• Connecting employees with purpose

Mandela Day provides our most valuable resource, our employees, with a unique opportunity to support social impact in all three core areas of our CSR strategy.”

In addition, SAP will also support Rays of Hope in establishing the #Hope4Alex programme office, which enables the organisation to support vulnerable families and residents of Alexandra through three streams, namely the educational and pastoral centre, the general centre office and the social workers and counselling centre. On the digital literacy front, SAP will further support the continued digital skills building journey of Rays of Hope, its partner organisations and residents of Alexandra beyond Mandela month, in partnership with Siyafunda CTC, via a virtual learning platform. 

Participating SAP employees both in Africa and globally, will give up their time for approximately 100 minutes, to include the introduction, framing of the challenge, the design sprint, and reflections on the proposed solution.

With no end to the hunger crisis in sight, RCL FOODS ’ DO MORE FOUNDATION has committed to its biggest goal yet: to enable 1 million hot Rainbow Chicken meals to be donated to the hungry this Mandela Day.

In order to do this, the Foundation needs to make its circle of partners even bigger – and is calling on individuals and businesses across South Africa to #GiveItUp to DoMore for the cause.

“Children were particularly close to Nelson Mandela’s heart, and our Foundation is driven by a commitment to creating better tomorrows for them. With the lockdown resulting in school feeding schemes being closed to nearly 10 million learners, they are a particularly vulnerable group we are reaching out to,” says DO MORE FOUNDATION Executive, Warren Farrer.

Between 13 and 18 July 2020 the Foundation will be partnering with 329 soup kitchens – affiliated to  organisations such as Meals on Wheels, Afrika Tikkun, Save the Children and the Department of Social Development – to provide the 1 million hot Rainbow chicken meals to the poorest of the poor, including young children.

HOW COMPANIES CAN HELP #GiveItUp to DoMore

“Partnerships and collaborations enable us to DO MORE than we could on our own, and this campaign is no different. We are calling on other companies and individuals to partner with us and #GiveItUp to DoMore for Mandela Day,” says Farrer.

Read more on how you can #GiveItUp here

Dimension Data

One of the goals of Nelson Mandela Day is the provision of quality education for children and Dimension Data are committed to making education accessible to the youth.

This Mandela Day they have partnered with Qhubeka who believe that bicycles change lives, to help raise funds to provide bicycles to children in our communities, so that they can get to school faster, increasing their access to education.

Dimension Data have invited their employees to do their part by spending 67 minutes of their time on Saturday the 18th of July, by either walking, running, or cycling and to raise funds to support this worthy cause. By donating their time, passion, and energy, the employees are making a tremendous difference to the lives of those who may otherwise struggle to achieve their ambitions.

They chose to support the Qhubeka initiative for 2020 to ensure that we remain socially apart, yet socially connected.

More than 1 600 Top Employers around the world.

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Announcing the Global Top Employers 2024

Make every day a Mandela day with HandPicked

• July 4, 2022

“Do what you can, with what you have, wherever you are.”

This is the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s call for 2022’s Mandela Day on July 18 th .  Centred around its food and nutrition programme, Nelson Mandela Foundation urges the public to promote community and backyard gardens, supporting fruit and indigenous tree planting, and creating awareness of the intersections between food security and climate change.

The essence of Mandela Day is to take action, inspire change, and make every day a Mandela Day. 

Mr Price Foundation aspires to do just that; “Make every day a Mandela Day”. Mr Price Foundation’s HandPicked, its flagship agripreneur programme, stimulates youth entrepreneurship, tackles food security and supports sustainability, in partnership with African Grower and Fresh Life Produce.  

Mr Price Foundation heeds the call from the Nelson Mandela Foundation by: 

• Planting and growing fresh, organic and cost-effective produce in or for vulnerable communities. 
• Investing in sustainable food production platforms to the benefit of vulnerable communities
• Embracing home and community planting and growing as a contribution to protecting the environment and addressing the challenge of climate change. 

Launched in late 2020 with a green vision to promote ‘agripreneurship’ opportunities through agricultural skills development, HandPicked addresses four of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

• zero hunger
• good health and well-being
• decent work and economic growth.  

HandPicked trains youth from various agricultural institutions of higher learning and equips them with practical technical agriculture and agri-business skills to empower them to be better agripreneurs, and ultimately take their future into their own hands. 

What makes Handpicked different from other farming projects is that crops are produced in vertical African Growers using coconut coir as a growing medium. This assists with shorter lead times to ensure that produce can reach the market faster. 

The 12-month skills development programme aims to drive social change while simultaneously making a sustainable impact, creating a brighter future for young South Africans. 

Youth and communities are equipped with life skills, business skills and modern growing techniques. These include producing vertical crops hydroponically, using less water and space than traditional farming, and maximising scarce resources in urban and rural settings. 

After graduating through HandPicked, growers are equipped to become self-sufficient food producers or agribusiness owners, stimulating local economies and community food production. 

In the pilot project, 75% of HandPicked candidates were female, empowering them to address unemployment and food insecurity in their communities. HandPicked also supports persons with disabilities, with half of the growers at Vukuzame in KwaZulu-Natal being disabled. Vukuzame growers are producing fresh produce in 30 tunnels, improving the wellbeing and nutrition of 104 dependents. 

Mr Price Foundation’s Vision is to co-create programmes to unlock potential, with employability or entrepreneurship as the ultimate goal. 

To heed the call from Madiba, learn more and/ or support our HandPicked programme, please visit https://mrpricefoundation.org/handpicked/ and https://mrpricefoundation.org/fund/ .

Check out our HandPicked programme in action: video

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Make Every Day Nelson Mandela Day

Monday, 17 July 2017 –  The Presiding Officers, National Assembly (NA) Speaker Ms Baleka Mbete and National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Chairperson Ms Thandi Modise, call on all South Africans, including Members of Parliament and staff, to heed Tata Nelson Mandela’s call to change the world around them during this Mandela Month.

In keeping with Parliament’s motto of being ‘An activist and responsive People’s Parliament that improves the quality of life of South Africans and ensures enduring equality in our society’   Mandela Month presents an opportunity for Parliament to illustrate its continuous commitment to serve humanity.

Tata Mandela’s birthday, 18 July, was declared the Nelson Mandela International Day, commonly known as Mandela Day, following a unanimous resolution by the United Nations General Assembly in 2009. However, in South Africa the month of July is set aside for everyone to honour his life by taking actions to make the world a better place.

To commemorate this month in a manner that takes the legacy of the selfless leader of the people forward, Parliament has lined up a host of engagements aimed at touching the lives of ordinary South Africans in general and the historically marginalised in particular. These include, delivering books to a library, donating of blankets and food parcels to senior citizens, putting up two soup kitchens, a squash coaching clinic, plus visits to three safe homes - for young women in conflict with the law, survivors of abuse and a shelter for destitute mothers and their children.

This year’s Mandela Month commemorations will take place against the backdrop of Parliament celebrating “20 Years of the Constitution and the Establishment of the NCOP.” Tata Madiba’s legacy is inseparable from the drafting of our Constitution which gave birth to the NCOP. Therefore, it is fitting to honour his work as we commemorate these two landmark occasions.

The Mandela Month programme kicked-off on Friday, 14 July, on a sporting note with the Parliament Squash team, in partnership with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, hosting a coaching clinic for young people from schools that are ordinarily not exposed to the sport. On Monday (today), the NCOP Deputy Chairperson, Mr Raseriti Tau, will deliver books at the Judy Scott Library in Kimberley, Northern Cape. On Tuesday 18 July, the Speaker will donate blankets to senior citizens at Rolihlahla Hall in Ekurhuleni, parliamentary staff will set up two soup kitchens near Parliament for the homeless and the destitute, and they will also visit Saartjie Baartman Centre in Athlone. In addition, the other two safe homes Onse Plek, in Mowbary, and the St Anne’s Home in Woodstock will be visited on July 25 and 28 respectively.

It is through participation in commemorative activities like the Mandela Day that Parliament is able to demonstrate its responsiveness to the needs of the people. Each year in July we get to reflect on what has been done and what still needs to be done. Making every day Mandela Day celebrates Madiba’s life and legacy in a sustainable way that will bring about a caring society and enduring change.

Our collective freedom will only be fully realized when we assist others to create a conducive environment for them to meet their basic needs. We must do everything in our power to rid the world of social ills like poverty, inequality, unemployment and gender based violence.

ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

Enquiries: Moloto Mothapo 082 370 6930

PROGRAMME: MANDELA MONTH 2017 CAMPAIGN

14 July 2017 (Squash Club Clinic) 17 July 2017 (Deputy Chairperson book donations to Library, Kimberley) 18 July Speaker donates blankets to senior citizens in Ekurhuleni 18 July 2017 (Organisational Wellness Programme) 18 July (Visit to Saartjie Baartman Centre) 25 July (Visit to Ons Plek) 28 July (Visit to St Anne’s Home)

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Commemorating mandela day.

Mandela Day is an important day in South Africa, but it’s not a national holiday. If anything it’s a national ‘work harder’ day, where people are encouraged to take a burden from others and do something that stretches them away from their normal daily duties. The idea of Mandela Day was inspired by Nelson Mandela at his 90th birthday celebrations in London’s Hyde Park in 2008 when he said: "It is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now."  The United Nations officially declared 18 July as Nelson Mandela International Day in November 2009, recognising Mandela’s "values and his dedication to the service of humanity" and acknowledging his contribution "to the struggle for democracy internationally and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world".

The celebration of Mandela Day aims to serve as a global call to action for people to "recognise their individual power to make an imprint and help change the world around them for the better", says the Nelson Mandela Foundation.  

The British Council played its part: A large mob of us went to work for a partner organisation, Inner City Ambassadors, which runs a football-for-kids programme in a tough part of the centre of Johannesburg.  Part of the Premier Skills programme, Inner City Ambassadors has helped reclaim an urban park that even 5 years ago would have been inaccessible and intimidating, and we worked with them to clean their tarmac football pitch and paint their toilets, in advance of the Mandela Day Cup – a young people’s football tournament. Strangely, and in a typically South African way, one of the teams entered in the Cup was composed entirely of grannies – who despite their age were almost guaranteed to reach the final stages since no young person would dare show disrespect by tackling them. Not only was it amazingly humbling, but it was also a good team building exercise where we met some truly inspirational people choc-full of their commitment to community and the people around them.

In South Africa the focus is on ’67 Minutes for Madiba on Mandela Day’.  The 67 is the number of years that Mandela spent in public service, through struggle and in search of social justice, eventually resulting in his time as the first President of the new South Africa. dcWe spent a lot more than 67 minutes with them, and not one of us wanted to leave

Mandela said at the time of the campaign's launch that he would be "honoured if such a day can serve to bring together people around the world to fight poverty and promote peace and reconciliation".  We made our small contribution as did millions of others across South Africa and the world, united in our understanding that the power of public good doesn’t require us to hold public office, just a determination to support the legacy of Mandela by doing and living as best we can.  Every day.

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How To Make Every Day A Mandela Day

We all love Mandela Day, right? Inspired by the late Nelson Mandela who spent 67 years fighting for South Africa’s democratic freedom, this great initiative encourages South Africans to do something for just 67 minutes to make a difference in a community that is under-resourced and under-privilege.

This year, however, why not do something that goes beyond just 67-minutes and that will make an impact for most of the year. If you’re not sure where to start or what to do, we’ve got five ideas for you below. Come on, let’s do this!

• Sign up to be a regular volunteer

Most non-profit organisations are on the look out for volunteers to assist throughout the year, not only on Mandela Day. So, if you have been involved with an organisation in the past (maybe a previous Mandela Day) where you were moved and inspired to make a difference, why not consider giving them more of your time on a regular basis by signing up to be a volunteer? “Regular” doesn’t need to be every week; it could be once a month, once every two months or once a term. Chat to the organisation that you choose and find out what their needs are in terms of volunteers. You may just be the person that changes everything and helps impact more people!

If you’re not sure where to start, then head on over to For Good (www.forgood.co.za) for a list of organisations throughout South Africa that can do with another helping hand.

• Give to organisations that make a real impact

We get it: it is often much easier to give towards the person who is begging at the traffic light – surely your small change will help them in their plight? This, however, is just a quick solution and doesn’t address the real need. It’s better to rather give towards organisations that address the overall issues of homelessness, poverty and unemployment, and that are assisting in empowering people through skills development. Ultimately, the R100 that you were going to give towards the homeless over a course of a month can actually assist an organisation in reaching a number of people and help make a real difference in these people’s lives.  

We also understand that not everyone can always afford to donate financially; instead, look into donating clothes or food to organisations that will use it to benefit those who need it the most.

Again, head on over to For Good (www.forgood.co.za) for a list of organisations that you can donate to financially or through other means.

• Donate your time  

Many non-profit organisations cannot always afford the employ the help of highly skilled organisations as funds are often limited and focused on assisting in more urgent needs. So, if you’re trained in a specific skill – whether it be marketing, social media marketing, IT or even accounting – why not offer your skills and services for free to an organisation that requires it.

Chat to a few organisations that inspire you to see if they have a need where you have the skill; if they don’t need your services, they might know of an organisation that can do with your help.

• Engage with someone

They say that charity often start at home – have you ever looked around your immediate sphere to see who may need a positive role model? It may be your neighbour’s teenager or your domestic worker’s child, the teller at the supermarket who you chat to every week when you do your grocery shopping or your grandmother who is in an old age home? Engage with those in your community who might not be in need (be it physically or emotionally) and find out how you can support them – it might be something small like helping with homework or just having a simple cup of tea and a chat.

• Share the love

Found an amazing organisation doing great things in the lives of people who need it most? Then tell your friends about the organisation to help drive awareness of the work they do and to inspire your friends to get involved.

While you at it, show your love by Liking/Following them on social media and then sharing their posts – most organisations will use Facebook in particular, to post about whatever needs they have and how people can get involved. Plus as many (if not all) organisations don’t have a budget for social media marketing, your share can help them reach more people!

For more information, email [email protected] or visit www.rawson.co.za for the latest market tips and industry news.

Leave a comment, age matters: why buyers should always check how old a property is.

Sustainable building trends boost property values

Optimism abounds as interest rates remain unchanged.

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Make every day a Mandela Day

Jul 18, 2019 ForHumanity

“Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.” ~ Sally Koch

Mandela Day is about ordinary people being positive and making a difference. We took some time out to spend at the Midrand SPCA to drop off food and supplies for the animals. After spending some time with the animals (yes there were tears), we got stuck-in with clearing and sorting one of the storerooms.

The action of every individual, no matter how small, can make a difference. We must remember this, not just on Mandela Day, but every day, and ensure kindness spreads across this planet like wildfire.

Article contributed by Tamarind Higgins EVENT: Mandela Day, July 2019

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We’ve Raised Over R3.5 Million in Cash, Services & Goods. Check the Progress of our Causes up to date!

Local charities assisted, sterilizations, (r) goods donated, blankets collected, kennels donated, (r) services donated, tons food distributed, (r) cash donated, (r) media pr generated, get in touch. get involved..

We would love to hear from you! Get in touch so we can discuss ways we can make a difference together!

Mandela Day

Make every day a mandela day #itisinyourhands, to donate r30 to the work of nelson mandela day, sms #mandeladay to 42607, why get involved.

Now, more than ever, humanity needs to confront climate change, persistent and increasing levels of poverty, as well as inequality.

For Nelson Mandela International Day 2023, the vision of the Nelson Mandela Foundation was for the world to unite and act decisively against the consequences of climate change and food insecurity.

#ItIsInYourHands

How to get involved.

Make every day Mandela Day. Get involved! Either start a project, campaign or event, or volunteer.

MAKE EVERY DAY A MANDELA DAY!

On #MandelaDay2023 we can use our hands to plant trees and grow food gardens, to fight climate change and to help communities overcome food insecurity. Can we count on your two hands to do the work?

POST A COMMENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA, USING #MANDELADAY2023 #ITISINYOURHANDS

How to get involved in 2023: #ItIsInYourHands

On #MandelaDay2023 we’re asking you to use your hands to do good in the world, specifically to help end hunger and mitigate climate change by planting trees and food in your communities, cities, gardens and on your pavements. Our aim is that one million trees are planted around the world on #MandelaDay2023 .

Mpumalanga primary school’s Mandela Day Library ends 35-year wait

After 35 years of waiting, an Mpumalanga primary school opened its first real library on 13 March 2024, thanks to the Mandela Day Library project.

Mandela Day and Outreach Programme's Women’s Month activities

On Saturday, the 26th of August 2023, the Mandela Day and Outreach Programme participated in two events in commemoration of Women’s Month.

Lenasia school gets a Mandela Day gift

As part of its efforts to “make every day a Mandela Day”, Skillcraft Agencies recently donated a toolkit to the maintenance crew at Sharicrest Primary School in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg.

Johannesburg’s SAHETI School commemorates Mandela Day

Pupils from preschool to matric at Johannesburg’s SAHETI School commemorated Nelson Mandela International Day last week.

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Nelson Mandela Day, 18 July

Like in previous years, the United Nations Academic Impact is urging everyone to join a call by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to devote on 18 July – the day Nelson Mandela was born – sixty-seven minutes of time to helping others, as a way to mark Nelson Mandela International Day.

In November 2009, the UN General Assembly declared 18 July Nelson Mandela International Day in recognition of the former South African President’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom.

UNAI believes that by devoting 67 minutes of their time – one minute for every year of Mr. Mandela’s public service – people can make a small gesture of solidarity with humanity and a step towards a global movement for good.

What can you do in 67 minutes?  Here are some ideas from the Nelson Mandela Foundation:

• Get to know someone from a different cultural background.
• Read to someone who can’t.
• Visit a local home for the blind and open up a new world for someone else.
• Help out at the local animal shelter. Help someone get a job. Put together and print a CV for them, or help them with their interview skills.
• Many terminally ill people have no one to speak to. Take a little time to have a chat and bring some sunshine into their lives.
• Donate a wheelchair or guide dog, to someone in need.
• Buy a few blankets, or grab the ones you no longer need from home and give them to someone in need.

To see all 67 suggestions for action, visit http://www.mandeladay.com/static/join

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Make every day a Mandela Day

Every year on 18 july, which is former president nelson mandela’s birthday, south africa and the rest of the world join hands to celebrate international mandela day..

This is in recognition of the 67 years of his life that he spent serving his community, country and the world in the struggle for peace and equality.

Due to the success of Mandela Day, the celebration of this great leader was extended to the entire month of July, which has become known as Mandela Month.

The Mandela Month message for 2013, like previous years, is centred on change with the call to Take Action; Inspire Change; Make Every Day a Mandela Day.

It urges people everywhere to play a role in making the world a better place, one step at a time, just like Madiba did.

67 minutes of service

How will you spend your 67 minutes of service this Mandela Day? There are many ways to get involved. Here are just a few suggestions:

• Create food parcels and give them to people in need, such as street children.
• Volunteer to do shopping for an elderly or disabled person.
• Volunteer at your local police station or faith-based organisation.
• Offer your help at a local children’s home or an old age home.
• Offer to look after the children of a single mother to give her a break or take the children on an outing.
• Mow someone’s lawn or help them to fix things around the garden or house.
• Read to someone who can’t read.
• Collect unused clothing and blankets from friends and donate them to homeless people.
• Collect old newspapers from a school, community centre or hospital and take them to a recycling centre.
• Visit someone in hospital.

Nelson Mandela Day: When is Nelson Mandela day and why it is important?

• Published 18 July 2023

Tuesday 18 July is Nelson Mandela Day, recognising the South African leader's historic achievements on the anniversary of his birth.

Created in 2009 by the United Nations , the day is a celebration of Mandela's life and legacy.

The theme for Nelson Mandela Day for 2023 is: 'It's in your hands", and is aiming to raise awareness of how food is impacted by climate change and calling on people taking part to plant trees and food in their communities.

The organisers are also aiming to plant one million trees around the world.

Nelson Mandela was a famous world leader who had a huge impact on the 20th century and helped shape the 21st, working to bring about significant changes to the lives of many South Africans.

Continue reading to find out about Nelson Mandela's life story .

More Mandela

Mandela's most famous speeches

It's 30 years since Nelson Mandela was released from prison

Newsround in South Africa

Nelson Mandela's incredible life in pictures

Why was Nelson Mandela important?

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WATCH: A look back at Nelson Mandela's life (December 2013)

Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa in the country's first democratic elections in 1994, but it wasn't an easy road to get there.

When Nelson Mandela was a young man, white and black people in South Africa were not allowed to do things together and had to live separate lives under a system called apartheid.

White people, who were a small proportion of the population, were in charge of everything in South Africa.

Black people had fewer rights and couldn't vote and white people controlled which jobs black people could have, and even where they lived. They also had access to better schools and hospitals.

Nelson Mandela wanted South African apartheid to end and protested against it.

Mandela sent to prison

During this time, some protests against apartheid in South Africa became violent and because of this critics of Mandela labelled him and his supporters as terrorists.

In 1964 Mandela was convicted of treason and trying to damage the government and was sentenced to life in prison, during which he spent time on Robben Island.

The island, off the coast of Cape Town in South Africa, was the site of a prison for 300 years. Most inmates, including Nelson Mandela, were black men imprisoned for political offences.

Despite this, many people around the world supported Nelson Mandela's cause and campaigned for his release.

Kids explain what Nelson Mandela means to them (2020)

Mandela released from prison

Finally in 1990, after being in prison for 27 years, the South African President FW de Klerk - a white man - allowed Mandela to go free, signalling a new era in the country.

Mandela had become a symbol of resistance against apartheid and his release saw celebrations not only in South Africa but across the world.

Remembering the day Nelson Mandela was released from prison (2020)

Apartheid in South Africa ended a year later in 1991, and three years after that, South Africa held its first fully-democratic elections in which black people, as well as white, were allowed to vote.

Nelson Mandela was elected president and set about trying to bring people of different races together.

In 1993, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize - the highest honour of its kind - for his work.

YouTuber Caspar Lee speaks to Newsround about South Africa, Rugby and Nelson Mandela

In 1995, South Africa held its first major sports competition - the Rugby World Cup .

Mandela gave his support to the South African rugby team, made up mostly of white men, so that it would unite the country. The team, known as the Springboks went on to lift the trophy.

Mandela has gone down in history as one of the most famous world leaders ever and is remembered by many for promoting a message of forgiveness and equality.

More on this story

• Published 18 July 2018

• Published 13 December 2013

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67 ways to make everyday a Mandela Day… making us better!

Nelson Mandela was one of the greatest South Africans, he inspired a nation to be better. And even though we’re asked to do something on his birthday… why not make every day a Mandela day… making us better!

The idea of Mandela Day was inspired by Nelson Mandela at his 90th birthday celebrations in London’s Hyde Park in 2008 when he said:

“It is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now.”

The United Nations officially declared 18 July as Nelson Mandela International Day in November 2009, recognising Mandela’s “values and his dedication to the service of humanity” and acknowledging his contribution “to the struggle for democracy internationally and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world”.

The celebration of Mandela Day aims to serve as a global call to action for people to “recognise their individual power to make an imprint and help change the world around them for the better”, says the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

“Nelson Mandela has been making an imprint on the world for 67 years, beginning in 1942 when he first started to campaign for the human rights of every South African. His life has been an inspiration to the world,” the foundation said.

By devoting 67 minutes of their time – one minute for every year of Mandela’s public service – people can make a small gesture of solidarity with humanity and a step towards a global movement for good.

With that, comes the annual 67 minutes but more so, it is now our responsibility to continue his dream of making South Africa & the world… a better place.

If you’re looking for a reason to make a difference… then here are 67 little things that can create massive change… its changing one thing, to change everything.

• Donate blood, especially if you are group O, as the blood bank is dangerously short of blood at this time. If you are over 16 and weigh more than 50kg, go to their website or sms your name and postal code to 31454 to get details on your closest blood bank.
• Put a tin money box in your house or office to collect small change for a local soup kitchen.
• Support Sparrow schools: Sparrow is a non-profit outfit that educates children with learning difficulties to grade 9 and then puts them through a tertiary program to develop skills so that they are employable, like floor laying and hotel schooling. Karen Lancaster, fund-raising manager, invites corporates in particular to partner with them in development programs. “It enables the company to reach their BEE score and our kids get jobs!” Call them on 011 673 4410.
• Fish out old prams and baby cots and donate them to an infant home.
• Buy a Madiba bangle and support container libraries. Log on to their website  to see where these have been placed so far.
• Sign up at an old age home to read the newspaper or play an instrument to the elderly once a month for the next year.
• When shopping, buy extra female hygiene products and drop off packs, with a personalised message on each, to a women’s shelter for the abused. Visit their website here.
• Sign up with a Saturday school and commit a few afternoons a month to improving the marks of underprivileged matrics.
• Provide back-up support for volunteer workers by serving tea or generating food packs on a monthly basis.
• There are many animal shelters who are in need of volunteers, contact the SPCA, FORA or Erwins for more info.
• Sign up with Generation Earth and help your child start up a “Gen earth” committee at their school. They focus on carrying out green projects and educating their peers on environmental issues. Here’s their website .
• Walk around your neighbourhood. Pick up litter in the area
• Drop off scrapbooking supplies and scraps of fabric at a retirement home for use in creating crafts for end-of-year markets.
• Download the Sassi card to check that the fish you order in a restaurant is not endangered. Here’s the website .
• Redeem points earned on a shopper’s card for gift vouchers for your domestic worker to take home.
• Make a point of meeting all your neighbours and set up a “whatsapp” group so you can report suspicious activity directly to each other.
• Jacaranda children’s home is a non-profit shelter for abused and abandoned kids which is caring for 350 children. They also run a home for pregnant women and take in financially affected children. Ancha Smuts says they would welcome donations of non-perishable food, toiletries and cleaning equipment. You can also pledge money via SMS or website or 012 800 4700
• Set up a community garden in your neighbourhood where residents can share the water and weeding.
• Ashoka is a volunteer portal for individuals to sign up with their skills set and wait for opportunities to give back. Here is their website .
• Take a can of Q20 or a weed-eater to your local park and tidy up or fix rusty joints of the equipment.
• Pledge to unplug your chargers from now on.
• Sponsor a guide dog by paying for the puppy training via their website or call 011 705 3512.
• Sign up as an organ donor – your body can save up to seven lives and many more with tissues like heart valves. Here’s their website .
• Living seeds organisation, an organic seed company, is calling for volunteers to help their charities plant the gardens. They say time and expertise are needed as many of the beneficiaries are “soil illiterate”. Check out their website .
• Bake something for the local police station night shift to encourage them in their difficult work.
• Donate platelets or bone-marrow. Visit the website for more details.
• Sign up as a regular donor to the Star’s Seaside fund. The charity gives underprivileged children the opportunity to have a fun-filled holiday at the sea – many of them have never seen the beach and the 10 days spent are a treasured time for them. Maggie Mosiane, who accompanies the groups to KZN, says: “Some of the kids hide because they don’t want to leave when the 10-day stay comes to an end.” Call Maggie on 011 633 2304.
• Drop off a soft toy at the Johannesburg central police station – the toys are kept at the victim empowerment centre to hand out to abandoned and abused children when they come in for counselling.
• It’s the coldest time of the year – collect blankets and give them to homeless shelters. Contact the Salvation Army on 011 718 6746.
• Sign up for the 94.7 Momentum Cycle Challenge and begin collecting sponsorships for a charity of your choice.
• Take a pack of seeds to a rural school and help the children plant them.
• Print a booklet of lessons for your domestic worker’s kids. There are a number of sites that let you reproduce their worksheets for free.
• Offer to feed a neighbour’s pet or house-sit while they are away.
• Log into to Back a Buddy and sign up to follow a cause. Better still, begin a new one and get fund-raising.
• Drop off a bag of pet food or a blanket at your local Animal Shelter.
• Talk to your suburban shopping centre about recycling and encourage them to manage their trash.
• Pledge to have more showers and fewer baths.
• Qhubeka encourages rural residents to plant food gardens and trees and in return earn a bicycle, which provides a great amount of freedom for the children as they use them to travel the long distances to school. “We support it because it empowers the people rather than simply handing out help,” says Eleanor Mitrovitch, general manager of MTN Branded, the major sponsor of the initiative. Check out their work on their website .
• Get inspired by going to  For Good … they are incredible!
• Make a meal count. Invite a needy family for dinner, cook a meal for them or just buy an extra sandwich at lunch time & give it to someone less fortunate.
• Read for Tape Aids for The Blind – if your voice passes the audition, you get to record a book. Call 011 786 6130 or visit their website .
• Go to your local library and ask them how you can help to keep them going – providing cake when people from the local old age home visit or reading to kids.
• Plant a tree at home and give a twin plant to someone in an informal settlement. Compare their growth over the years.
• Clean out your shelves and get a bag of books ready to deliver to a school that needs extra reading books.
• Pledge to use your next “party” for fund-raising by creating a ‘cause’. That way, you’ll encourage your friends to think about charitable socialising.
• Swap your usual take-out paper cups for a ceramic one to ease the impact on landfills.
• Pledge to drink tap water instead of buying bottled water all the time (South Africa has some of the best water in the world!)… more info on their website .
• Buy balls of wool for an old age home or donate a chess set that you don’t use.
• Switch the TV off in the evening and talk to your children about starting a family charity – something you can all fund-raise toward that is important to all of you. If you register on their website , you could win money for the cause.
• Take a new soccer ball to a local school for the kids.
• Go to the local hospital and see if you can get on a standby list to help out in the trauma waiting area when they are under pressure.
• Donate old magazines to a home or a needy nursery school.
• “Like” the homecoming revolution and show overseas friends that SA is still the best!
• Hold a garage/jumble sale for charity.
• Get a My School card and register a rural school as the beneficiary: Check out their website or call 0860 100 445.
• Instead of spending on a meal at a restaurant, put together a food parcel for someone at work who has fallen on hard times.
• Start buying food in minimal packaging to save on throw-away items.
• Do some research into the products you usually buy – find alternatives that are better for our planet.
• Register with greater good and create a “giver” profile.
• Offer your services to the Highveld Horse Unit. See them on Facebook to see how you can help.
• Commit to sorting your trash at source to make life easier for the informal recyclers who rummage through the garbage.
• Sort out your cupboard and give someone your old clothing to sell to boost their income.
• Donate reading glasses to TheEyeMakers who are distributing over a thousand pairs this year.
• Switch off one geyser for the month, to help ease the pressure on the country’s electricity supplies.
• Soccer outreach ambassadors in soccer (AIS-SA) welcome soccer enthusiasts to help them engage poorer societies throughout SA using the vehicle of soccer. Contact them on 012 348 0025.
• Cheese kids, who describe themselves as a “broad-based volunteer program”, are seeking volunteers on Mandela Day. Log on to their website and RSVP to their “Nelson Mandela day revolution” or donate by sms.
• Tweet, Facebook, Blog. Tell the world about Madiba. Make every day a Mandela Day!

Since our beloved Mandela is no longer around to anchor the incredible occasion, it’s more important than ever to uphold the values for which he struggled and to share his message for peace and humanity with future generations.

It’s in our hands to make a difference.

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Sources: Various

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Brent Lindeque is the founder and editor in charge at Good Things Guy.

Recognised as one of the Mail and Guardian’s Top 200 Young South African’s as well as a Primedia LeadSA Hero, Brent is a change maker, thought leader, radio host, foodie, vlogger, writer and all round good guy.

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MPSA 2013 Nelson Mandela Day celebration: “Make every day a Mandela Day'

The purpose of this document is to outline the activities of the Ministry for Public Service and Administration (MPSA) aimed at celebrating 95th birthday of the first democratic president, Nelson Mandela. The document also seeks to communicate commitments by MPSA entities (SITA, PALAMA, GEMS and CPSI) towards this celebration.

On the 18th July 2013 people around the world will join South Africa in celebrating 95th birthday of the former President Nelson Mandela. The Cabinet recently called on all South Africans to celebrate this year’s Nelson Mandela Day in style. The 2013 Nelson Mandela Day Celebration comes at a time when former president has been in a hospital for more than a month.

This year’s theme will be celebrated under the theme “Take Action, inspire change, make every day a Mandela Day” with focus on food security, shelter and literacy.

Since 2012 MPSA had been celebrating National Days as one big family, inclusive of all DPSA portfolios. In responding to a call by Cabinet, MPSA has put together resources to celebrate Nelson Mandela Day in Alexandria, Eastern Cape two days prior Madiba’s birthday on the 18th July 2013. MPSA resources will seek to focus on two out of three areas of the Cabinet instruction.

In addition to MPSA activities, Home Affairs and SASSA will also be present to provide their services to the local community members.

3. MPSA activities per portfolio

3.1 state information technology agency 3.1.1 Alexandria Primary School

SITA will donate 40 classmate PCs to Alexandria Primary School. The Classmate is a government approved NetBoot which has been specifically designed for learning. These PCs are rugged, affordable, child-friendly notebooks that integrate technology into the lives of students, teachers, administrators and parents.

In addition the lab will be equipped with appropriate desks and chairs, printer, whiteboard, laptops, projector, servers, air-conditioning. The Classmate PCs will also come equipped with appropriate educational software and educators will receive approximately three months training in the use of the classmate PCs.

In order to ensure sustainability of the project SITA will provide on-going technical maintenance and support. SITA will leverage its Internship Program to place an Intern on site at the school to provide support to teachers and learners on an on-going basis.

3.1.2 Ukhanyo High School

SITA will upgrade the existing computer laboratory by donating 25 PCs , an interactive white board, projector, Printer, computer chairs, Air conditioning , server, cabinet, appropriate educational software and training for teachers for approximately three months.

3.1.3 Rugby Balls

Since many of the schools in the Alexandria area are passionate about Rugby, SITA will donate ninety rugby balls to four different schools, Alexandria Primary school, Bhongweni Primary school, Zuney Primary School and Ukhanyo Secondary School. These rugby balls were part of the table decor for the gala dinner of the GovTech 2011 Conference. As a good corporate citizen SITA adopted the GovTech environmental vision which aims to reduce the carbon footprint on the environment and leave behind a social legacy for the local community.

3.2 Public Administration and Leadership Academy

In response to one of the 2013 Mandela Day focus areas, PALAMA will provide training to more than twenty five unemployed graduates of Alexandria. The training on Breaking Barriers to Entry will empower graduates to understand government policies and its processes. In addition to this participants will be entered into government database for internships and learnerships.

Over and above providing training to unemployed graduates, PALAMA will also donate more than 150 wonder bags to elderly women and two computers to Zuney Primary School.

3.3 Centre for Public Sector Innovation

CPSI will assist two schools with permaculture gardens and sanitation solution (Biodiversity).

3.3.1 The Biodiversity Project: Ukhanyo Secondary School and Bhongweni Primary School

The Biodiversity project is modelled on the 2011 CPSI and AAPISA Innovator of the Year award winner project, namely, The Rural Sustainable Villages. The project selects a village or an establishment which is totally self-sustainable through the use of innovative technologies. The project involves, amongst others, the establishment, equipping and the support of organic food gardens at schools. The school becomes an excellent vehicle for school-to-community empowerment. In addition to the permaculture garden, an array of alternative energy technologies and other systems are introduced to support sustainability in a rural context.

The project will be delivered in two phases:

Food gardening

The food garden will be established to supply organic vegetables to the school whose learners will be actively involved in the maintenance of the garden. Furthermore, the garden will provide organic material for the production of a fertilizer through wormy culture. The fertilizer is organic and is also a natural insect repellent that safeguards the plants from pest infestation.

The following will be implemented at the school:

• water management - water harvesting, irrigation, water conservation, water wise gardens
• waste management and composting - vermi-composting, composting kitchen waste, sheet mulching with used paper, etc.
• edible and medicinal gardens - fruit and nut orchards as well as plants and herbs with a traditional medicinal value, linking well into the curriculum
• school/community nursery - this helps bring community involvement as a "value" in the project.
• mother plant nursery - an area where plants can be propagated for school beautification, this can help build a sense of pride in the school again

This will involve the development of a grey water capturing system where water from hand wash basins is diverted to the toilets for flushing. These actions are also further strengthened by the Environmental Health Practitioners’ involvement in Health and Hygiene education to the children.

In addition, Biogas will be generated as part of the sanitation project. The system links to: 1) gardens - through an organic fertilizer as well as "taking" garden waste as a fuel stock 2) kitchens - provides gas for cooking 3) learning tool for natural science and technology

3.4 Government Employee Medical Scheme

GEMS will participate in the MPSA Mandela Day Celebration by providing different services to the community members which include cholesterol testing and massages to elderly people.

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Mandela Day Report 2009

April 21, 2010 – The Nelson Mandela Foundation and 46664, in association with the other sister organisations, have called for Mandela Day on July 18 to be recognised as an annual international “day of humanitarian action” in celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy.

July 18, 2009, marked Mr Mandela’s 91st birthday and the inaugural Mandela Day. After the success of this first Mandela Day, the United Nations adopted it as a day for global humanitarian action calling it Nelson Mandela International Day.

This decision transformed the day into a celebration of Mr Mandela’s life and legacy, as well as an opportunity for people internationally to join the mission to make the world a better place.

Mandela Day is about creating a global movement for good, which recognises – as Mr Mandela does – that positive change begins with small, selfless, individual actions. Mandela Day serves as a catalyst for people around the world to realise that each and every one of them has the ability to change the world through small actions.

On July 18 every year, people are asked to donate at least 67 minutes of their time in service to their communities. Sixty-seven minutes is a symbolic number, representing the number of years Mr Mandela was actively involved in social activism.

The first Mandela Day, in 2009, was celebrated both in South Africa and in the United States (New York), with people in both countries responding enthusiastically to the challenge of improving the lives of those around them:

• As the community of Atteridgeville, South Africa, facilitated reconciliation between perpetrators of violence against non-nationals and their victims, New Yorkers attended photographic exhibitions on the life and times of Mr Mandela and cleaned up parks.
• In South Africa, the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra organised a concert for the children of Alexandra, while former political prisoners visited the Syferfontein informal settlement in Pacaltsdorp, near George, to provide community members with breakfast.
• Moyo restaurant staff took party packs, face painters and drummers to Umthombo Street Children in Durban and Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg, and South African vehicle tracking company Tracker distributed food parcels, blankets, clothes and shoes to the Slovoville community, outside Roodepoort, as well as in Dobsonville, Soweto.
• In South Africa’s cities of Port Elizabeth, George, Mthatha and East London, supermarket chain Shoprite hosted four Mandela Day birthday parties for senior citizens. The Soroptimist Club of Tshwane delivered food hampers to Potter’s House, a centre for abused and destitute women.

South African government departments and radio stations also participated enthusiastically and gave of their time on Mandela Day. Some 300 Department of Health practitioners organised X-rays and other medical services for people in Mqanduli (Eastern Cape); the Limpopo Housing MEC organised the construction of 67 houses for destitute families and the Vaal Triangle’s 90.6FM Stereo radio station arranged for eight choirs to perform for the elderly around the region.

Political parties also rose to the challenge, with African National Congress (ANC) and ANC Youth League members conducting a clean-up campaign at the Nhlazatshe taxi rank and visiting the Gugulethu Old Age Home in the Western Cape.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation ensured that the message reached global audiences by spreading it through South Africa’s foreign missions. These efforts led to governments and civil society organisations adopting Mandela Day.

On July 12, the Non-Aligned Movement member countries issued a special declaration endorsing the event following a motion supporting Mandela Day by the Irish government. It commended the Nelson Mandela Foundation for: “honouring Nelson Mandela’s service to humanity by giving people of the world the opportunity of his birth date to embrace his values, through seeking to improve their lives through service to their communities”.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Vodacom Foundation marked their 10-year anniversaries and the inaugural Mandela Day in 2009 by awarding gifts to two Mandela Day initiatives:

• Kaya FM was recognised for enthusiastically promoting the day on air every day for more than a week and for identifying and highlighting community initiatives that practised “Mandela Day every day”.
• The City of Matlosana (North West Province) was recognised for its comprehensive Mandela Day initiative, which included highlighting the plight of the physically disabled, cleaning disability centres in and around the city, and providing lunch to some of its citizens.

With Mr Mandela’s birthday having been accorded international status, it remains for every individual around the world to take up the personal challenge issued by the man himself and show how each one of us can make a difference, not only on July 18, but every day.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation and its sister charities would like to thank the South African government, the United Nations General Assembly, civil society and corporates and all individuals who participated in making the inaugural Mandela Day a success.

View the Mandela Day 2010 information here .

‘I am prepared to die’: Mandela’s speech which shook apartheid

Sixty years ago during the Rivonia Trial in South Africa, Nelson Mandela delivered one of the most famous speeches of the 20th century. He expected to be sentenced to death but instead lived to see his dream ‘of a democratic and free society’ realised.

“Accused number one” had been speaking from the dock for almost three hours by the time he uttered the words that would ultimately change South Africa. The racially segregated Pretoria courtroom listened in silence as Nelson Mandela’s account of his lifelong struggle against white minority rule reached its conclusion. Judge Quintus de Wet managed not to look at Mandela for the majority of his address. But before accused number one delivered his final lines, defence lawyer Joel Joffe remembered, “Mandela paused for a long time and looked squarely at the judge” before saying:

“During my lifetime, I have dedicated my life to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against Black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realised. But, my Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

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After he spoke that last sentence, novelist and activist Nadine Gordimer, who was in the courtroom on April 20, 1964, said, “The strangest and most moving sound I have ever heard from human throats came from the Black side of the court audience. It was short, sharp and terrible: something between a sigh and a groan.”

This was because there was a very good chance that Mandela and his co-accused would be sentenced to death for their opposition to the apartheid government. His lawyers had actually tried to talk him out of including the “I am prepared to die” line because they thought it might be seen as a provocation. But as Mandela later wrote in his autobiography, “I felt we were likely to hang no matter what we said, so we might as well say what we truly believed.”

‘The trial that changed South Africa’

The Rivonia Trial – in which Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and seven other anti-apartheid activists were charged with sabotage – was the third and final time Mandela would stand accused in an apartheid court. From 1956 to 1961, he had been involved in the Treason Trial, a long-running embarrassment for the apartheid government, which would ultimately see all 156 of the accused acquitted because the state failed to prove they had committed treason.

And in 1962, he had been charged with leaving the country illegally and leading Black workers in a strike. He knew he was guilty on both counts, so he decided to put the apartheid government on trial. On the first day of the case, Mandela, known for his natty Western dress, arrived in traditional Xhosa attire to the shock of all present. He led his own defence and did not call any witnesses. Instead, he gave what has been remembered as the “Black man in a white court” speech, during which he asserted that “posterity will pronounce that I was innocent and that the criminals that should have been brought before this court are the members of the Verwoerd government,” a reference to Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd.

The Rivonia Trial, which kicked off in October 1963, was named after the Johannesburg suburb where Liliesleaf Farm was located. From 1961 to 1963, the Liliesleaf museum website notes, the farm served “as the secret headquarters and nerve centre” of the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Communist Party (SACP) and Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK, the military wing of the ANC). On July 11, 1963, acting on a tip-off, the police raided Liliesleaf, seizing many incriminating documents and arresting the core leadership of the underground liberation movement. Mandela, who was serving a five-year sentence on Robben Island from his conviction in the 1962 trial, was flown to Pretoria to take his place as accused number one.

Instead of charging the men with high treason, State Prosecutor Percy Yutar opted for the easier-to-prove crime of sabotage – the definition of which was so broad that it included misdemeanours such as trespassing – and which had recently been made a capital offence by the government. Thanks to the evidence seized from Liliesleaf, which included several documents handwritten by Mandela and the testimony of Bruno Mtolo (referred to as Mr X throughout the trial), a regional commander of MK who had turned state witness, Yutar was virtually assured of convictions for the main accused.

In his autobiography, Mandela explains their defence strategy: “Right from the start we had made it clear that we intended to use the trial not as a test of the law but as a platform for our beliefs. We would not deny, for example, that we had been responsible for acts of sabotage. We would not deny that a group of us had turned away from non-violence. We were not concerned with getting off or lessening our punishment, but with making the trial strengthen the cause for which we were struggling – at whatever cost to ourselves. We would not defend ourselves in a legal sense so much as in a moral sense.”

The accused and their lawyers decided that Mandela would open the defence case not as a witness – who would be subject to cross-examination – but with a statement from the dock. This format would allow him to speak uninterrupted, but it carried less legal weight.

Mandela writes that he spent “about a fortnight drafting [his] address, working mainly in my cell in the evenings”. He first read it to his co-accused, who approved the text with a few tweaks, before passing it to lead defence lawyer Bram Fischer. Fischer was concerned that the final paragraph might be taken the wrong way by the judge, so he got another member of the defence team, Hal Hanson, to read it. Hanson was unequivocal: “If Mandela reads this in court, they will take him straight to the back of the courthouse and string him up.”

“Nelson remained adamant” that the line should stay, wrote George Bizos, another member of the defence team. Bizos eventually persuaded Mandela to tweak his wording: “I proposed that Nelson say he hoped to live for and achieve his ideals but if needs be was prepared to die.”

On the evening of April 19, Bizos got Mandela’s permission to take a copy of his statement to Gordimer. The respected British journalist Anthony Sampson, who knew Mandela well, happened to be staying with her and he retired to Gordimer’s study with the text. “What seemed like hours” later, Bizos wrote, Sampson “eventually returned, obviously moved by what he had read”. Sampson made no major changes to the text, but he did advise moving some of the paragraphs because he felt journalists were likely to read the beginning and the end properly and skim over the rest.

Gordimer does not seem to have suggested changes to the address, but she did see several drafts. She, too, was happy with the final version.

The statement from the dock

Yutar, who had been hoodwinked by the defence team’s constant requests for court transcripts into spending weeks preparing to cross-examine Mandela, was visibly shocked when Fischer announced that Mandela would instead be making a statement from the dock. He even tried to get the judge to explain to Mandela that he was committing a legal error. But the usually stone-faced judge laughed as he dismissed the request. Mandela, himself a lawyer, was represented by some of the country’s finest legal minds. He knew exactly what he was doing.

“My Lord, I am the first accused,” Mandela said. “I admit immediately that I was one of the persons who helped to form Umkhonto we Sizwe and that I played a prominent role in its affairs until I was arrested in August 1962.” Thanks to the recent recovery of the original recordings of Mandela’s statement, we now know that he spoke for 176 minutes , not the four and a half hours regularly cited.

As Martha Evans, author of Speeches That Shaped South Africa, explained, Mandela “candidly confessed some of the crimes levelled against him before giving a cogent and detailed account of the conditions and events that had led to the establishment of MK and the adoption of the armed struggle”.

He spoke at length of the ANC’s tradition of nonviolence and explained why he had planned sabotage: “I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love for violence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation and oppression of my people by the whites.”

The final section of the address focused on inequality in South Africa and humanised Black South Africans in ways that Mandela argued the country’s white population rarely acknowledged:

“Whites tend to regard Africans as a separate breed. They do not look upon them as people with families of their own. They do not realise that we have emotions, that we fall in love like white people do, that we want to be with our wives and children like white people want to be with theirs, that we want to earn money, enough money to support our families properly.”

And: “Above all, my Lord, we want equal political rights because without them our disabilities will be permanent. I know this sounds revolutionary to the whites in this country because the majority of voters will be Africans. This makes the white man fear democracy. But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all.”

Interestingly, Gordimer noted that the speech “read much better than it was spoken. Mandela’s delivery was very disappointing indeed, hesitant, parsonical (if there is such a word), boring. Only at the end did the man come through.”

Hanging by a thread

After Mandela’s address, several of the accused subjected themselves to cross-examination. Gordimer was particularly impressed by Walter Sisulu: “Sisulu was splendid. What a paradox – he is almost uneducated while [Mandela] has a law degree! He was lucid and to the point – and never missed a point in his replies to Yutar.”

The defence team enjoyed a number of minor victories with Judge de Wet fairly regularly telling the court that Yutar had failed to prove one point or another. After final arguments were heard in mid-May, court was adjourned for three weeks for the judge to consider his verdict.

For the main accused, that verdict was always going to be guilty. Avoiding the noose became the defence team’s number one priority. In the courtroom, this entailed asking Alan Paton, a world famous novelist who was leader of the vehemently anti-apartheid Liberal Party, to give evidence in mitigation of sentence.

But the real action happened outside the court, Sampson wrote in his authorised biography of Mandela: “The accused had been buoyed up by the growing support from abroad, not only from many African countries but also, more to Mandela’s surprise, from Britain. … On May 7, 1964, the British Prime Minister, Alec Douglas-Home, offered to send a private message to Verwoerd about the trial. But Sir Hugh Stephenson [Britain’s ambassador to South Africa] recommended that ‘no more pressure should be exerted’ and, contrary to some published reports, there is no evidence the message was sent. When the South African Ambassador called on the Foreign Office that month, he was told that the government was now under less pressure to take a stronger line against South Africa, though death sentences would bring the matter to a head again.”

A week before the verdicts, Bizos visited British Consul-General Leslie Minford at his Pretoria home. “As I was leaving, Leslie put his arm around my shoulders and said, ‘George, there won’t be a death sentence.’ I did not ask him how he knew. For one thing, he had downed a number of whiskies. Certainly, I felt I could not rely on the information nor could I tell the team or our anxious clients.”

Upping the stakes further was the decision by Mandela, Sisulu and Mbeki to not appeal their sentence – even if it were death. As he listened to sentencing arguments, Mandela clutched a handwritten note that concluded with the words: “If I must die, let me declare for all to know that I will meet my fate as a man.”

Paton and Hanson spoke in mitigation of sentence on the morning of June 12, 1964. Bizos noted, “Judge de Wet not only took no note of what was being said but he appeared not to be listening.” He had already made his mind up, and when the formalities were over, he announced: “I have decided not to impose the supreme penalty, which in a case like this would usually be the penalty for such a crime. But consistent with my duty, that is the only leniency which I can show. The sentence in the case of all the accused will be one of life imprisonment.”

Professor Thula Simpson, the leading historian of MK, told Al Jazeera, “There is no evidence that De Wet was leaned on by the state. I don’t believe there’s any evidence for this being a political rather than a judicial judgement.”

Professor Roger Southall, author of dozens of books on Southern African politics, agreed. “At the time, there was a lot of speculation about whether there was pressure on the SA government to ensure that capital punishment was not imposed,” he told Al Jazeera. “But there is also no proof that the SA government intervened. That remains an unanswered question. We have to presume that the judge knew the international and local climate.”

Business as usual?

“Rivonia got a lot of global publicity,” Southall said. “But once the trial ended, it seemed like Mandela had been forgotten.” Mandela and other senior ANC figures were either locked up on Robben Island or were living in relative obscurity in exile. “Capital came pouring into South Africa at a rate that’s never been equalled since,” Southall continued. “The apartheid government seemed totally in control. The resistance was dead. It was a thoroughly grim period for the ANC.”

This only started to change in 1973, Southall said, “with the Durban strikes and the revival of the trade union movement”, which had been battered into submission. The rebirth of the Black trade union movement signalled the beginning of a new phase of opposition politics. Things ratcheted up several notches on June 16, 1976, when apartheid policemen opened fire on a peaceful protest of schoolchildren in the Black township of Soweto, killing 15 people. In the eight months that followed, violence spread across South Africa, killing about 700 people.

The resuscitation of Black opposition to apartheid under a new band of leaders coincided with the decline of the economy. After the Soweto uprising, foreign investors fled South Africa in their droves, laying bare the fundamental flaws of the apartheid government’s dependence on cheap labour and mining and its point-blank refusal to meaningfully educate people of colour. The apartheid government spent about 12 times more per child on white schoolchildren than it did on Black ones.

By the 1980s, even the apartheid government could see something had to change, and in 1983, Prime Minister PW Botha announced plans to include multiracial and Indian South Africans, but not Black South Africans, in a new “tricameral” parliament. His plan backfired spectacularly, uniting the opposition like never before under the newly formed United Democratic Front (UDF). One of the UDF’s key demands was the unconditional release of all political prisoners, especially Mandela. Soon after its launch in August 1983, the UDF numbered almost 1,000 different organisations from all segments of South African society. Botha didn’t know what had hit him.

When, in 1984, Oliver Tambo, the ANC’s exiled leader, asked his supporters to “make South Africa ungovernable”, the townships rose up. Things got so bad in 1985 that Botha declared a state of emergency – but this was also the year in which tentative secret talks with Mandela began.

An icon re-emerges

“In the late 1970s, you started getting occasional demands that Mandela be released,” Southall said. By the mid-1980s, “Free Nelson Mandela” became a constant and global refrain with the “I am prepared to die” statement being quoted at rallies and emblazoned on T-shirts. “On one level, the ANC ‘invented’ this version of Mandela,” Southall said. “Until 1976, the apartheid government had done a very good job of erasing him from public memory.”

What might have happened if Mandela had been sentenced to death at Rivonia? One does not need to look far for a possible answer. The other poster boy of the global anti-apartheid movement in the 1980s was Steve Biko (subject of the Peter Gabriel hit song), the young leader of the Black Consciousness movement, who had been tortured to death by apartheid police in 1977. “You can also have myths develop when you execute people,” Simpson said. “If they had executed Mandela, he would have been a different icon in a different struggle.”

A dream realised

On February 11, 1990, Mandela was released from prison. From the balcony of Cape Town City Hall, he addressed his supporters for the first time since Rivonia. He opened his speech by saying: “I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I, therefore, place the remaining years of my life in your hands.”

He ended by quoting the final lines of his 1964 statement from the dock, explaining that “they are true today as they were then.” Over the course of the next decade, as Mandela first navigated the treacherous path to democracy and then served as the country’s first democratically elected president, he lived out his vision of a “democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities”.

When the ANC’s Chris Hani was assassinated by an apartheid supporter in 1993, Mandela assumed the moral leadership of the country by urging his incensed supporters not to derail the peace process. After becoming president, he engaged in numerous public shows of reconciliation: He went for tea with the widow of slain apartheid Prime Minister Verwoerd, and he donned the Springbok rugby jersey (for many, a symbol of white supremacy) when he presented the almost entirely white South African team with the World Cup trophy in 1995.

When Mandela died in 2013, US President Barack Obama spoke at his memorial, famously – and predictably – quoting the final paragraph of the statement from the dock at Rivonia. By that stage, there were already some in South Africa who felt that Mandela was a “sellout” because he had been too forgiving of whites during the transition.

Now, more than a decade later as inequality continues to plague the country and South Africa stands on the cusp of its most competitive general election in 30 years of democracy, it is common to hear young Black South Africans accuse Mandela of selling out . Southall does not take such claims too seriously: “People who say he’s a sellout are either too young or too forgetful to appreciate how close we came to civil war. Mandela played a huge role in pulling off the peaceful transition.”

“Now, after 30 years of democracy, there is still a tension between white domination and Black domination,” Simpson said. “South Africa is not what Mandela dreamed of. He might be turning in his grave, but we can’t forget that many of the policies that have gone wrong were introduced by him. He might have turned things around, but he might have not.”

“You can’t blame Mandela for where we are now,” Southall said. “There are individual things he got wrong. But he also got a lot of things right.”

Mandela’s is one of the 12 remarkable lives covered in Nick Dall’s recent book, Legends: People Who Changed South Africa for the Better, co-written with Matthew Blackman.