Let’s make Mandela proud

This is a momentous year for South Africa. Not only are we in the midst of a New Dawn, but the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth gives us a golden opportunity to reflect on our past and our future.

It also allows us to ask ourselves as individuals what we can do to make our country a better place.

We are blessed to have Madiba as a role-model as we negotiate this time of transition. Collectively, we must ask, “What would Nelson Mandela have done?” because when it comes to integrity and downright goodness, there is no better yardstick than Mandela with which to measure our actions.

Central to Thuma Mina is the idea that people should take responsibility for their own destiny by helping to shape the world they want to live in. While this might seem like a mammoth task best left to the country’s leaders, there is nothing further from the truth.

The power of one is mighty. Imagine how local business would prosper if people committed themselves to buying local products. By purchasing items that were sourced, produced or manufactured in South Africa you will be doing your bit to stabilise the economy and to create more jobs.

This could be a big purchase, like a locally produced lawnmower, less expensive items like clothing bearing the Proudly South African label, or even your breakfast from a neighbourhood food vendor.

If you are employed, see what you can do to create opportunities within your workplace for youngsters to get on-the-job experience. If you are not employed or are ready to go it alone, remember that there are many government programmes to help entrepreneurs, who are essential to economic growth, increased innovation and job creation.

It is not by chance that Madiba’s birthday is celebrated a month after Youth Month. We all can recall how fond he was of youngsters because it is young people that can end social injustices in our communities, just like Mandela did as a young man. I thus call on you to lend them a hand and help secure our future.

Volunteerism is a great way to answer the Thuma Mina call. Share your skill with an NGO, get involved with your local soup kitchen or see if your local school needs any help.

There are also many ways in which you can help build a better South Africa through little gestures that simply become a way of life, like putting your trash in the bin, picking up litter you pass, recycling to help ease environmental challenges, reading your child a bedtime story to strengthen their school readiness, or simply spreading goodwill by being friendly and chatting to the people around you, or by complimenting someone on good service.

With government strengthening its efforts to provide better service delivery, more jobs, and greater investment; and citizens being agents of change and goodwill, imagine how great South Africa can become, and how much we can extend Mandela’s legacy.

During his presidency, Mandela put in place initiatives that still serve us well: a strong central government based on majority rule, our ground-breaking Constitution, the Reconstruction and Development Programme, the Human Rights Commission, free primary healthcare, a schools’ feeding scheme, equitable social grants, a partnership with Cuba to train young medical doctors… the list is ongoing and give us great platform on which to consolidate our successes.

In closing, I use an apt quote by Mandela: “It is easy to break down and destroy. The heroes are those who make peace and build.”