Mandela’s legacy continues to live on
Leader would have been proud to see spirit of learning, write Craig and Marc Kielburger.
Five years ago, Craig sat under the South African sun at a funeral and joined an entire nation in mourning a hero.
Nelson Mandela would have turned 100 this month. Though his legacies number too many to capture here, we think of his most enduring gift, to the children Craig saw running through the crowds in Mandela’s ancestral village that sad day. The former president and antiapartheid revolutionary brought universal primary education to South Africa, giving a generation of children the same gift that forever changed his own life.
Although his parents were illiterate, Mandela’s religious mother sent him to a church school. He was lucky — under Apartheid, education for black children was rare.
As we celebrate Mandela’s centenary, imagine how many other potential Mandelas are out there right now, ready to accomplish great things empowered by education. These are just a few that we have met who are changing their families, communities and the world.
In the remote villages of India’s Rajasthan province, girls’ education is often considered a frivolous waste of time. Mamta Lohar’s parents disagreed — a decision that paid off. After learning about water-borne diseases in class, 10-year-old Mamta convinced her parents to boil well water before drinking it, noticeably improving the family’s health.
Although she’s not yet reached high school, Mamta has her sights set on a medical degree. She wants to help heal as many people as possible.
At age five, Francis Naimodu taught himself basic electronics and rigged up a lighting system to protect his family’s cattle from nocturnal predators in Kenya’s Maasai Mara. As he grew up, Francis became the village handyman, capable of fixing anything. When Ngulot High School opened near his home in 2017 — the first secondary education to be offered in the region — Francis studied hard to earn one of just 33 spots at the school, beating out more than 350 applicants. Now in Grade 10, Francis plans to become an engineer, in order to keep fixing structural challenges in his community.
Even in Canada, some are still fighting for a chance at proper schooling. Chelsea Jane Edwards spent her high school years advocating for a new grade school in the remote Attawapiskat First Nation in Northern Ontario. In 2014, she cried as she watched her niece start kindergarten at the newly opened Kattawapiskak Elementary School. As co-founder of the non-profit Shannen’s Dream, Chelsea is demanding equal rights to education for all Indigenous youth, and is now studying law.
And in the village of Bourget, Ont., east of Ottawa, 17-year-old Mariam Sabbah says her education has empowered her to create positive change.
Mariam mentors students at a local school, and successfully lobbied her own school to raise awareness of energy consumption and climate change. She’s also rallied her peers to collect donations for Syrian refugees in Canada. Mariam will begin studies in international management at Mcgill University next year, “to continue my lifelong journey of helping to improve our global village.”
Through these and other inspiring young people, the spirit of Nelson Mandela lives on. Brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger founded the educational partner and international charity Free The Children and the youth empowerment movement We Day at we.org.