History is shaped by the people

“MADIBA’S legacy is a fundamentally important legacy. Not as the president, not as leader of the ANC, not as a political prisoner, but as an all-encompassing human being who understood that history is shaped by people… so part of what you have here are records that do not peer anywhere. When you look inside the exhibition and see that on those desk calendars, Madiba recorded his doctor’s appointments, recorded on there what the statistics were that the doctors gave him, where there were prescriptions what the medicines were. Madiba had planned every step along the way.” – Trevor Manuel, Struggle stalwart.

“You think you’ve got an understanding of the journey of Mandela, but coming through here you realise there’s so much more to the story that spans decades. This was a re-education of probably the richest part of South African history. We’re privileged to have this at our doorstep. The next thing to do is to bring my children to make them understand the story.” – John Smit, ex-springbok captain.

“The Nelson Mandela Foundation is honoured to be able to bring this exhibition to South Africa. It started in New Zealand and Australia. We are hoping this exhibition will do the most fundamental thing, which is remind us of the responsibility of building the country of Madiba’s dreams… that our institutions of democracy, such as Parliament, should not be part of the breakdown of society one parliamentary session after another. I’m hoping, through this exhibition, we are reminded that apartheid was, is, and will always be, a crime against humanity because no nation should have gone through what we went through. That our woundedness is not just in the visible wounds we have (for those who died, for those who were maimed by apartheid forces) and even those who do not have visible wounds feel their dignity is impugned upon through poverty, inequality, xenophobia, gender-based violence, the abuse of children.” – Sello Hatang, chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.