Nelson Mandela International Day

As expressed by Nelson Mandela,

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918–2013) was the the first Black president of South Africa (1994–1999) and a Nobel Peace Prize winner (1993). His negotiations helped end the country’s apartheid system of racial segregation and ushered in a peaceful transition to majority rule. A lawyer, Mandela established South Africa’s first Black law practice and specialised in cases resulting from the post-1948 apartheid legislation. In 1955 he was involved in drafting the Freedom Charter, a document calling for nonracial social democracy in South Africa. From 1964 to 1990, Mandela was in prison, having been sentenced to life imprisonment following the Rivonia Trial. During his presidency, he established in 1995 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which investigated human rights violations under apartheid, and introduced housing, education, and economic development initiatives designed to improve the living standards of the country’s Black population. Nelson Mandela International Day is to take action and inspire change by making a difference in communities. Suggested actions include:

• getting to know someone from a different cultural background — through mutual understanding can we rid our communities of intolerance and xenophobia;
• reading to someone who can’t by, for example, visiting a local home for the blind and opening up a new world for someone else who has not had the advantage of education;
• help someone get a job by helping them put together a CV and with interview skills, and introducing them to networks;
• have a conversation with someone who is terminally ill;
• help someone financially to get their eyes tested, teeth checked and for a general medical
• donate a wheelchair or guide dog, to someone in need.
• buy a few blankets, or grab the ones you no longer need from home, and give them to someone in need.