Madiba ‘humbled’ by Mandela Day
Nelson Mandela will turn 91 on Saturday, a day that will be commemorated world wide as the first internationally recognised ‘Mandela Day’. Madiba will celebrate his birthday in Johannesburg but parties honouring him have been organised across the globe.
The main Mandela Day festivities will take place in New York City, where international stars and dignitaries have been gathering since the start of the week. A star studded concert in Madiba’s honour will be the highlight of a week that many New Yorkers have devoted to community service. All week, a volunteer programme has been running in the city as part of the build up to Madiba’s birthday on Saturday. More…..
People around South Africa plan to spend on Saturday sprucing up neglected schools, distributing food parcels and blankets, and even reading newspapers to the elderly in line with the call for 67 minutes of community service to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 91st birthday.
“I’m going to spend my 67 minutes reading newspapers to the gogos who live near me,” said a policeman on duty outside Mandela’s home in Houghton. Grade R pupils at Johannesburg’s St Katherine’s School drew giant birthday cards for the former president and would each bring R6.70 to school on Monday to be donated to a project a sister school is saving for. More…
