Honour Madiba

HE WAS a hero to our country, he was a leader in the fight for equality and on July 18 every year we celebrate the legacy of Nelson Mandela.

Mandela Day has been celebrated every year since 2009, not just in South Africa but all over the world. It is held on Madiba’s birthday every year and calls us to honour his memory by performing good deeds of our own.

The event began in April 2009, when musicians at that year’s 46664 concerts (held to raise money for those suffering with Aids, and hosted by Madiba himself) asked the world to join them in celebrating “Mandela Day” to commemorate Madiba’s work on his birthday.

The UN decided to officially declare

Mandela Day later that year, not as a holiday but as a day on which people would perform at least 67 minutes of community service to mirror Madiba’s 67-year fight for social justice.

The year 2010 marked the first time the rest of the world joined South Africa in doing their 67 minutes of service.

Mandela did great things for our country, having served as our country’s first black president between 1994 and 1999, a feat which marked the end of the whites-only government and the oppressive apartheid system.

He had taken part in many political battles before becoming president. But his activism and open dislike for the apartheid government’s abuse of human rights eventually resulted in his arrest in 1964.

He spent 27 years in prison and, after he was released in 1990, he became president.

Many changes took place during his time in office, including the creation of the national flag and the bill which allowed everyone aged 18 and over to vote in elections (previously, only whites were allowed to do so).

His actions and achievements earned him the respect of every South African citizen, even before his death in 2013 at the age of 95.

Without his actions and that of other Struggle icons, many of the things we enjoy today would not have been possible.

So what will you do to honour him on what would have been his 100th birthday?