Madiba Day starts with mountain summit
‘IT IS ONE THING TO BE GIVEN A FISH, BUT IT’S ANOTHER TO LEARN HOW TO FISH FOR YOURSELF’
HE SPENT 67 years of his life fighting for equality for all South Africans and each year since 2009, Nelson Mandela has been celebrated internationally with people doing a range of good deeds for at least 67 minutes of their day.
Making every day Mandela Day is what the Nelson Mandela Foundation hopes to do and this year is no different.
The foundation’s Mandela Day manager, Yaso Godlo, said it donated books and food to various communities throughout the year.
And to start this year’s celebrations, a 35-strong team headed to Tanzania to summit Mount Kilimanjaro.
The team, which left yesterday morning, hopes to raise money for 270 000 girls to receive sanitary towels for a year.
“It is all about making every day Mandela Day. We do book drives and continue to collect and distribute books and have a lot of other projects that try to encourage sustainable living.”
Godlo added that although the day was about sharing with those who are less fortunate, it was also about showing them how to be able to do things on their own.
“It is one thing to be given a fish, but it’s another to learn how to fish for yourself. As much as it is about receiving, it is also about learning.”
The team in Tanzania includes the chief executive of the foundation, Sello Hatang, rapper Proverb and the SABC’s Leanne Manas. They will summit the mountain on Saturday and head back to South Africa on July 20.
Interntional Mandela Day is celebrated annually on July 18, the former president’s birthday, and encourages everyone to give 67 minutes of their time to charity.
If you have not yet made up your mind about what to do for your 67 minutes, you can visit the foundation’s website and choose a suitable event.
This year, LeadSA will partner withthe Gordon Institute of Business Science and UCT’s Graduate School of Business for anew leadership initiative.
Business people and entrepreneurs will provide 67 minutes of one-on-one coaching to a number of participants, from NGOs, up-and-coming businesses, to entrepreneurs. For more details visit www.leadsa.co.za