Mandela Inspired Oprah To Change The Lives Of South African Girls

Television personality, media mogul, actress and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey is always in the media for the right reasons. She is not only the richest black woman but also one of the top philanthropist.

She revealed how she was inspired by Mandela to change lives of South African girls. Initiated a $100 million-plus quest to build her ambitious school. The decision started out as a rather outlandish promise to a man who became her friend, confidante and mentor: Nelson Mandela, the late anti-Apartheid icon, who passed away at age 95.

The stunning campus just outside Johannesburg and the school’s rigorous academic programming are unprecedented, serving the best and brightest but also the most underprivileged South African girls, many of them AIDS orphans and all from households surviving on less than $950 a month.

In 2000 Winfrey and long-time boyfriend Stedman Graham were invited to stay at Mandela’s home on the country’s Western Cape for a vacation of sorts. “I was at first very intimidated,” Winfrey said of the event during our 2012 interview.

Unsure of what to talk about with the legendary Mandela for such a long stay, she probed Graham for input. His advice to a woman arguably more used to holding court: “Why don’t you try listening?”

For those 10 days Winfrey and the former South African president swapped stories, exchanged ideas and passed newspaper sections back and forth. When the topic turned to poverty, Winfrey spoke up. It was a subject she knew something about.

Growing up in Kosciusko, Miss., Winfrey’s childhood wasn’t far removed from the average South African. She lived on a farm without indoor plumbing and watched her grandmother, who largely raised her, hand-wash her clothes. At 9 she was raped by a cousin; at 14 she gave birth to a son, who died after childbirth.

Her way out came in the form of a federal program that gained her access to a rich suburban school, where she was one of only a handful of African-Americans. Each day she bounced between a home of poverty and a classroom of possibilities. Here she discovered a knack for public speaking and debate, which earned her a part-time radio gig and, later, a scholarship to Tennessee State University.

When she started making real money-millions, then billions, from her eponymous talk show and subsequent media empire-she vowed to pay for other poor black kids to go to college. And she has: To date she’s shelled out well over $400 million toward educational causes, including more than 400 scholarships to Atlanta’s Morehouse College.

Sitting on the floor at Mandela’s house, in thrall to her hero and saddened as he described the state of schooling in his country, she vowed to take her giving a step further. She pledged $10 million toward a South African school then and there. “When you go to Nelson Mandela’s house, what do you take?”
she said, half-joking, of her gift that day. “You can’t bring a candle. I wanted to leave something that would be of value.”

When the school officially opened in January 2007, Winfrey’s celebrity friends including Diane Sawyer and Tina Turner flew in to see the magnificent campus and meet the inaugural classes of girls, many of whom are now at top U.S. universities including Wellesley and Mount Holyoke.

But the guest of honour? Winfrey’s inspiration, Madiba, of course.

Some extracts from a story published by
www.forbes.com

Mandela: Top 10 moments from Obama's speech

1. Nelson Mandela reminds us that it always seems impossible until it is done.  South Africa shows us that is true.  South Africa shows us we can change.  We can choose to live in a world defined not by our differences, but by our common hopes.  We can choose a world defined not by conflict, but by peace and justice and opportunity.


2. We cannot allow our progress to cloud the fact that our work is not done.  […] For around the world today, we still see children suffering from hunger, and disease; run-down schools, and few prospects for the future.  Around the world today, men and women are still imprisoned for their political beliefs; and are still persecuted for what they look like, or how they worship, or who they love.


3. We, too, must act on behalf of justice; we, too, must act on behalf of peace. There are too many of us who happily embrace Madiba’s legacy of racial reconciliation, but passionately resist even modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty and growing inequality.


4. Mandela showed us the power of action; of taking risks on behalf of our ideals.  […] "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination," he said at his 1964 trial.  "I’ve cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.  It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve.  But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."


5. Mandela taught us the power of action, but also ideas: the importance of reason and arguments; the need to study not only those you agree with, but those who you don’t.  He understood that ideas cannot be contained by prison walls, or extinguished by a sniper’s bullet.


6. It is tempting then to remember Nelson Mandela as an icon, smiling and serene, detached from the tawdry affairs of lesser men.  But Madiba himself strongly resisted such a lifeless portrait. Instead, he insisted on sharing with us his doubts and fears; his miscalculations along with his victories.  "I'm not a saint," he said, "unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying."


7. To the people of South Africa – people of every race and walk of life – the world thanks you for sharing Nelson Mandela with us.  His struggle was your struggle.  His triumph was your triumph.  Your dignity and hope found expression in his life, and your freedom, your democracy is his cherished legacy.


8. It took a man like Madiba to free not just the prisoner, but the jailor as well; to show that you must trust others so that they may trust you; to teach that reconciliation is not a matter of ignoring a cruel past, but a means of confronting it with inclusion, generosity and truth. He changed laws, but also hearts.


9. While I will always fall short of Madiba’s example, he makes me want to be better.  He speaks to what is best inside us.  After this great liberator is laid to rest; when we have returned to our cities and villages, and rejoined our daily routines, let us search then for his strength – for his largeness of spirit – somewhere inside ourselves.
   
   


10. And when the night grows dark, when injustice weighs heavy on our hearts, or our best laid plans seem beyond our reach – think of Madiba, and the words that brought him comfort within the four walls of a cell:

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Obama and Castro shake hands, Zuma humiliated at Mandela memorial

By Stella Mapenzauswa and Steve Holland

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama shook hands with Cuba's Raul Castro at a memorial for Nelson Mandela on Tuesday, a rare gesture between the leaders of two ideological opponents that reflected the anti-apartheid hero's spirit of reconciliation.

But the peace and harmony did not stretch to South African President Jacob Zuma, whom the crowd at the rain-soaked Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg booed and jeered as he prepared to give his closing address.

 

Mandela's two widows unite at Soweto memorial service as Presidents, Hollywood stars and supermodels rub shoulders with Mugabe and Raul Castro in historic gathering of world leaders

[caption id="attachment_20861" align="alignleft" width="803"]
Mr Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Mandela Madikizela (far left, main image) and his widow Graca Machel (far right, main image) were joined by hundreds of world leaders and celebrities including U.S. President Barack Obama (top right) and supermodel Naomi Campbell (bottom right) to commemorate his life. The ceremony started an hour late at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg (top left) amid pouring rain (bottom left), but that did not stop joyous singing by thousands of ordinary South Africans ahead of the service.[/caption]

Mandela's death on Thursday at the age of 95 has diverted attention from a slew of corruption scandals in Zuma's administration, while underscoring the gulf between South Africa's first black president, a towering figure of the 20th century, and its fourth.

"Mandela had a vision. Mandela lived that vision," said Funeka Gingcara-Sithole, 31, who was in the crowd. "But what Zuma speaks, he doesn't live. He should do the honorable thing and resign."

Zuma's reception was a marked contrast to the rock-star welcome for Obama, one of about 90 world leaders bidding farewell to Mandela in Johannesburg.

As he bounded onto the podium, Obama extended his hand to communist leader Castro, who shook it and smiled back.

The only previous known handshake between U.S. and Cuban presidents since the island's 1959 revolution was at the United Nations in 2000, when Raul's brother Fidel shook the hand of then-U.S. president Bill Clinton in a chance encounter.

TOUGH WORDS

Obama's gesture of friendship did not prevent him delivering tough words to leaders who, he said, invoked Mandela's struggle against oppression while quashing opposition and dissent at home.

"There are too many of us who happily embrace Madiba's legacy of racial reconciliation, but passionately resist even modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty and growing inequality," he said, speaking yards away from Castro and Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao.

"There are too many leaders who claim solidarity with Madiba's struggle for freedom but do not tolerate dissent from their own people," he added, using Mandela's clan name.

The crowd's reaction to Zuma - many also gave the thumbs down sign or rolled their wrists in a soccer substitution gesture - is a worrying sign for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) as it heads towards an election in six months.

Although Africa's biggest economy has undergone huge change since the end of white-minority rule in 1994, it remains one of the world's most unequal societies, plagued by poverty, crime and unemployment.

Even though its support is waning, the 101-year-old ANC is almost certain to keep power in next year's vote. Party spokesman Jackson Mthembu dismissed the jeers as a "little blot" marring an otherwise successful event.

"It came as a bolt to all of us. We were quite surprised," he told ENCA television. "The ANC thinks that this would not have been the best platform to convey such views."

Coinciding with U.N. Human Rights Day, the memorial at the stadium - scene of the 2010 World Cup final - was the centerpiece of a week of mourning for Mandela, who was revered across the world as a symbol of reconciliation and forgiveness.

SINGING IN THE RAIN

He shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize with South Africa's last white president, F.W. de Klerk.

"He was more than one of the greatest leaders of our time. He was one of our greatest teachers," U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the crowd. "His baobab tree has left deep roots that reach across the planet."

Since Mandela's death, Johannesburg has been blanketed in cloud and torrential rain - a sign, according to African culture, of an esteemed elder passing on and being welcomed into the afterlife by his ancestors.

The atmosphere before the ceremony was one of joy and celebration, more akin to the opening game of the World Cup.

Whites and blacks danced, waved flags, blew plastic "vuvuzela" trumpets and sang anthems from the long struggle against apartheid. The packed carriages of commuter trains heading to the ground swayed side-to-side with the rhythm.

"I was here in 1990 when Mandela was freed and I am here again to say goodbye," said Beauty Pule, 51. "I am sure Mandela was proud of the South Africa he helped create. It's not perfect but no one is perfect, and we have made great strides."

The celebrities in attendance included singers Bono and Peter Gabriel, film star Charlize Theron, model Naomi Campbell and Virgin boss Richard Branson. Francois Pienaar, captain of the 1995 rugby World Cup-winning Springbok side, was also in the stands.

After Tuesday's event, Mandela's remains were to lie in state for three days at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, where he was sworn in as president in 1994.

He will be buried on Sunday in Qunu, his ancestral home in the rolling hills of the Eastern Cape province, 700 km (450 miles) south of Johannesburg. Only a few world leaders are due to attend what will be a more intimate family affair.

(Additional reporting by David Dolan and Peroshni Govender; Writing by Pascal Fletcher and Ed Cropley; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Kevin Liffey)

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How will Mandela’s death affect his biopic at the box office?

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Overnight, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, the biopic about the life of the global icon, Nelson Mandela, went from being just another contender on the long list of award-caliber films to arguably the must-see movie of the season.

The news of Mandela’s death came as The Weinstein Company, along with Long Walk to Freedom’s stars, director and producers, were in the midst of promoting the film, which currently is playing in only four theaters (two in New York City, and two in Los Angeles.)

Although the film is now receiving more buzz than ever, a publicist for the Weinstein Company tells theGrio that they are sticking to their original plan of expanding Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom into a larger number of theaters nationwide on Christmas Day.

According to Jake Coyle of the Associated Press, “when it [Long Walk to Freedom] opens wide on Christmas, it’s sure to draw larger crowds moved to remember Mandela. The Weinstein Co.’s challenge is to not appear to be capitalizing on Mandela’s passing, but celebrating his life.”

Last night, TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein released a heart-felt message on Mandela’s passing.

“One of the privileges of making movies is having the opportunity to immortalize those who have made a profound impact on humanity. We count ourselves unspeakably fortunate to have been immersed in Nelson Mandela’s story and legacy,” Weinstein stated.

“I have had the privilege of spending time with President Mandela and I can say his sense of humor was as great as his optimism. We are deeply saddened by his loss; our hearts go out to his family and the entire South African nation.”

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/the-grio/53616542#53616542

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Bishop Desmond Tutu's tribute to Mandela

South Africa's archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu has made an emotional tribute to his late friend Nelson Mandela, calling him an "incredible gift" to the nation, transcending race and class.

Speaking slowly and often on the verge of tears, Tutu said Mandela was "a unifier from the moment he walked out of prison", after 27 years behind bars.

"He taught us extraordinarily practical lessons about forgiveness, compassion and reconciliation."

In a tribute delivered often with closed eyes, the visibly moved fellow Nobel Peace laureate who is seen as South Africa's moral beacon, described Mandela as an "incredible gift that God gave us".

"We are relieved that his suffering is over but our relief is strung in our grief. We pray that he will rest in peace and rise in glory," Tutu said of the 95-year-old's death on Thursday.

But Tutu, known for his frankness even when it came to the nation's beloved icon, said Mandela was not without shortcomings.

"Did he have weaknesses? Of course he did, among them his steadfast loyalty to his organisation and to some of his colleagues who ultimately let him down, retaining in his cabinet underperforming, frankly incompetent ministers."

This had "laid the seeds for greater seeds of mediocrity and corruptibility that were to come", said Tutu, 82, who frequently laments South Africa's post-democratic flaws.

Yet he dismissed fears of "doomsday and disaster" for South Africa on the passing of the man who was behind the country's emancipation from white minority rule.

"Some have suggested that... as he's gone our country is going to go up in flames," Tutu said.

"This is, I think, to discredit us South Africans, to discredit his legacy. The sun will rise tomorrow and the next day and the next. It may not appear as bright as yesterday but life will carry on."

Mandela spent his first night as a free man at Tutu's home in 1990 and he told of poignant interactions with the leader.

Impersonating Mandela's trademark voice, he described how Mandela had organised someone to pay for a driver for Tutu after he had discovered the clergyman had driven himself to his Johannesburg home for a lunch.

"He cared, he really, really cared," said Tutu, struggling to keep his composure.

Calling on South Africans to follow Mandela's example and using his clan name urged them to "let Madiba's dream be our dream".

Best of Nelson Mandela "quotes"

Portions of this text may be reproduced for the purposes of review of Nelson Mandela by Himself without seeking further approval, and must be accompanied by the following copyright line: copyright © 2010 by Nelson R. Mandela and The Nelson Mandela Foundation or From Nelson Mandela By Himself: The Authorised Book of Quotations

On speaking

Long speeches, the shaking of fists, the banging of tables and strongly worded resolutions out of touch with the objective conditions do not bring about mass action and can do a great deal of harm to the organisation and the struggle we serve.

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS TO THE ANC TRANSVAAL CONGRESS, ALSO KNOWN AS THE ‘NO EASY WALK TO FREEDOM’ SPEECH, TRANSVAAL, SOUTH AFRICA, 21 SEPTEMBER 1953

On the future

Many people in this country have paid the price before me and many will pay the price after me.

SPEECH IN MITIGATION OF SENTENCE AFTER BEING CONVICTED OF INCITING WORKERS TO STRIKE AND LEAVING THE COUNTRY ILLEGALLY, OLD SYNAGOGUE, PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA, NOVEMBER 1962

On the liberation movement

If I had my time over I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man.

SPEECH IN MITIGATION OF SENTENCE AFTER BEING CONVICTED OF INCITING WORKERS TO STRIKE AND LEAVING THE COUNTRY ILLEGALLY, OLD SYNAGOGUE, PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA, NOVEMBER 1962

On challenges

Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end.

FROM A LETTER TO WINNIE MANDELA, WRITTEN ON ROBBEN ISLAND, 1 FEBRUARY 1975

On friendship

I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.

FROM HIS UNPUBLISHED AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MANUSCRIPT WRITTEN IN PRISON, 1975

On equality

I have never regarded any man as my superior, either in my life outside or inside prison.

FROM A LETTER TO GENERAL DU PREEZ, COMMISSIONER OF PRISONS, WRITTEN ON ROBBEN ISLAND, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, 12 JULY 1976

On time

I never think of the time I have lost. I just carry out a programme because it’s there. It’s mapped out for me.

FROM A CONVERSATION WITH RICHARD STENGEL, 3 MAY 1993

On death

Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity.

FROM AN INTERVIEW FOR THE DOCUMENTARY MANDELA, 1994

On ideology

I had no specific belief except that our cause was just, was very strong and it was winning more and more support.

ROBBEN ISLAND, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, 11 FEBRUARY 1994

On freedom of expression

A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy. The press must be free from state interference. It must have the economic strength to stand up to the blandishments of government officials. It must have sufficient independence from vested interests to be bold and inquiring without fear or favour. It must enjoy the protection of the constitution, so that it can protect our rights as citizens.

AT THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS INSTITUTE CONGRESS, 14 FEBRUARY 1994

On character

It is in the character of growth that we should learn from both pleasant and unpleasant experiences.

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS’ ASSOCIATION’S ANNUAL DINNER, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, 21 NOVEMBER 1997

On leadership

Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.

CHIEF ALBERT LUTHULI CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS, KWADUKUZA, KWAZULU-NATAL, 25 APRIL 1998, SOUTH AFRICA

On words

It is never my custom to use words lightly. If twenty-seven years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die.

CLOSING ADDRESS 13TH INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE, DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, 14 JULY 2000

On life

What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.

90TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF WALTER SISULU, WALTER SISULU HALL, RANDBURG, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, 18 MAY 2002

On freedom fighters

We tried in our simple way to lead our life in a manner that may make a difference to those of others.

UPON RECEIVING THE ROOSEVELT FREEDOM AWARD, 8 JUNE 2002

On Integrity

Those who conduct themselves with morality, integrity and consistency need not fear the forces of inhumanity and cruelty.

AT THE BRITISH RED CROSS HUMANITY LECTURE, QUEEN ELIZABETH CONFERENCE CENTRE, LONDON, ENGLAND, 10 JULY 2003

On AIDS

When the history of our times is written, will we be remembered as the generation that turned our backs in a moment of global crisis or will it be recorded that we did the right thing?

46664 CONCERT, TROMSO, NORWAY, 11 JUNE 2005

On humour

You sharpen your ideas by reducing yourself to the level of the people you are with and a sense of humour and a complete relaxation, even when you’re discussing serious things, does help to mobilise friends around you. And I love that.

FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH TIM COUZENS, VERNE HARRIS AND MAC MAHARAJ FOR MANDWLA: THE AUTHORISED PORTRAIT, 2006, 13 AUGUST 2005

On selflessness

A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of.

KLIPTOWN, SOWETO, SOUTH AFRICA, 12 JULY 2008

On determination

Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.

FROM A LETTER TO MAKHAYA NTINI ON HIS 100TH CRICKET TEST, 17 DECEMBER 2009



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Mandela 'On His Deathbed', Daughter Says

The daughter of Nelson Mandela has used what some consider to be "unusual words" to describe his condition. Mandela, despite being critically ill and unstable at times, was discharged from hospital in September. At the time, the Presidency said he will receive the same quality of care at home as he has had in hospital.