Mandela Day, what have you done?

What Is Mandela Day?

 

Nelson Mandela International Day was launched in recognition of his b-day on the 18^th of July 2009. It was a unanimous decision by the UN General Assembly.

This was inspired by a call Nelson Mandela made in 2008, so the next generation can take on the burden of leadership in addressing the world’s social injustices when he said, “it is in your hands now”.

It is of course more than just a celebration of his legacy and life, it’s a global movement to honour his life’s work and change the world for the better so our children can live a life we only dreamt of.

Mandela’s Message

If you didn’t know already, Nelson Mandela followed 3 rules throughout his life and did so at great personal sacrifice.

1.    Free yourself.
2.    Free others. 
3.    Serve every day.

Basically, Mandela day is a call to action for the citizens of the world to wake up and follow in the inspiring and formidable footsteps of Madiba, a man who served his country, transformed his life and freed his people. The objective is to inspire individuals to take action to help and change the world for the better and by doing this, build a global movement for good.

The big question of course is, what are we doing to make the world a better place?

Mandela day is very dynamic as is ever changing, belongs to everyone, can take place at any time and anywhere. 

There are four topics which most people focus on most:

Food Security.

This is where feeding activities, whether its’s food parcels, food gardens or just feeding schemes are sponsored to provide long-term access to food security. Some can’t sponsor money so they help out by handing out food to the hungry.

All people should have access to sufficient and nutritious foods to maintain a healthy and active life.

Education and Literacy.

In a world where knowledge truly is potential power, education and literacy are the most basic of building blocks that unlock gates of opportunity and success.

Thus it’s our responsibility as parents, as educators, as leaders, as caregivers and as citizens to build the desire to learn and better ourselves in our children and our communities so that we can give everyone a chance to fulfil their dreams.

So many people choose to donate books or to spoil an orphan for the day.

Shelter and Infrastructure.

The only way we as a nation can overcome the cycle of inadequate shelter and infrastructure is to join together and take action to make a change. By doing this we are brought together to build up ourselves, homes, communities, cities, continents, and thus the future.

Most help by supplying building materials or lend a helping hand in the building of houses.

Environment.

In an age of technological innovation and of industry, taking care of our world has become ever more difficult and so more necessary. What kind of a legacy will we leave to our children, loved ones and grand children? It takes one small action to become environmentally conscious. One small action can go about to cause global change.

So many people come together to clean up the street and neighbourhoods where they stay.

Madiba was the quintessential public servant.

Let us emulate the servant leader we loved by all becoming servant leaders ourselves.

Lead by example.