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

Nelson Mandela is laid to rest in his childhood home

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Nelson Mandela has today been buried in the remote village where the anti-apartheid icon grew up after a four-hour state funeral attended by thousands of mourners.

South Africa's first black president died in his Johannesburg home on December 5 at the age of 95 after a long battle with illness, and he was laid to rest in his grave in Qunu in Eastern Cape province after ten days of mourning in his beloved country.


Troops lined the route up to the hillside where he was buried as Mandela was carried on a gun carriage to a plot on his family’s estate.

As his body was placed on the grave the South African flag on the coffin was removed and handed to Mandela's widow Graca Machel, who was comforted by his ex-wife Winnie Mandela.


A fly-past then followed accompanied by a 21-gun salute and a solitary trumpeter played the Last Post while his body was lowered into the ground.

As he was buried armed forces Chaplain General Monwabisi Jamangile said: 'Yours was truly a long walk to freedom, and now you have achieved the ultimate freedom, in the bosom of your maker.'

His funeral was also marked by his Xhosa tribe whose elders traditionally slaughter an ox to accompany the deceased's spirit after burial, while guests are asked to drink its blood from a communal bowl.

But it is understood dignitaries such as Prince Charles were likely to be offered the animal's meat to eat instead after it was cooked on an open fire.


Mandela's family also talked to him until he was lowered into the earth and will have said 'Madiba, we are now burying you,' a tradition followed so the souls of the dead know where they are going in the afterlife.
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Inside Nelson Mandela's home

Biography

Rolihlahla Mandela was born into the Madiba clan in Mvezo, Transkei, on July 18, 1918, to Nonqaphi Nosekeni and Nkosi Mphakanyiswa Gadla Mandela, principal counsellor to the Acting King of the Thembu people, Jongintaba Dalindyebo.

His father died when he was 12 years old and the young Rolihlahla became a ward of Jongintaba at the Great Place in Mqhekezweni. Hearing the elder’s stories of his ancestor’s valour during the wars of resistance, he dreamed also of making his own contribution to the freedom struggle of his people.



 

He attended primary school in Qunu where his teacher Miss Mdingane gave him the name Nelson, in accordance with the custom to give all school children “Christian” names.

He completed his Junior Certificate at Clarkebury Boarding Institute and went on to Healdtown, a Wesleyan secondary school of some repute, where he matriculated.

Nelson Mandela began his studies for a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University College of Fort Hare but did not complete the degree there as he was expelled for joining in a student protest.

He completed his BA through the University of South Africa and went back to Fort Hare for his graduation in 1943.

On his return to the Great Place at Mqhekezweni the King was furious and said if he didn’t return to Fort Hare he would arrange wives for him and his cousin Justice. They ran away to Johannesburg instead, arriving there in 1941. There he worked as a mine security officer and after meeting Walter Sisulu, an estate agent, who introduced him to Lazar Sidelsky. He then did his articles through a firm of attorneys, Witkin Eidelman and Sidelsky.

Meanwhile he began studying for an LLB at the University of the Witwatersrand. By his own admission he was a poor student and left the university in 1952 without graduating. He only started studying again through the University of London after his imprisonment in 1962 but also did not complete that degree.

In 1989, while in the last months of his imprisonment, he obtained an LLB through the University of South Africa. He graduated in absentia at a ceremony in Cape Town.

Nelson Mandela, while increasingly politically involved from 1942, only joined the African National Congress in 1944 when he helped to form the ANC Youth League.

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In 1944 he married Walter Sisulu’s cousin Evelyn Mase, a nurse. They had two sons, Madiba Thembekile ‘Thembi’ and Makgatho and two daughters both called Makaziwe, the first of whom died in infancy. They effectively separated in 1955 and divorced in 1958.

Nelson Mandela rose through the ranks of the ANCYL and through its work, in 1949 the ANC adopted a more radical mass-based policy, the Programme of Action.

In 1952 he was chosen at the National Volunteer-in-Chief of the Defiance Campaign with Maulvi Cachalia as his deputy. This campaign of civil disobedience against six unjust laws was a joint programme between the ANC and the South African Indian Congress. He and 19 others were charged under the Suppression of Communism Act for their part in the campaign and sentenced to nine months hard labour, suspended for two years.

A two-year diploma in law on top of his BA allowed Nelson Mandela to practice law, and in August 1952 he and Oliver Tambo established South Africa’s first black law firm, Mandela and Tambo.

At the end of 1952 he was banned for the first time. As a restricted person he was only permitted to watch in secret as the Freedom Charter was adopted in Kliptown on 26 June 1955.

Nelson Mandela was arrested in a countrywide police swoop on 5 December 1955, which led to the 1956 Treason Trial. Men and women of all races found themselves in the dock in the marathon trial that only ended when the last 28 accused, including Mr Mandela were acquitted on 29 March 1961.

On 21 March 1960 police killed 69 unarmed people in a protest against the pass laws held at Sharpeville. This led to the country’s first state of emergency and the banning of the ANC and the Pan Africanist Congress on 8 April. Nelson Mandela and his colleagues in the Treason Trial were among thousands detained during the state of emergency.

During the trial on 14 June 1958 Nelson Mandela married a social worker, Winnie Madikizela. They had two daughters, Zenani and Zindziswa. The couple divorced in 1996.

Days before the end of the Treason Trial Nelson Mandela travelled to Pietermaritzburg to speak at the All-in Africa Conference, which resolved that he should write to Prime Minister Verwoerd requesting a non-racial national convention, and to warn that should he not agree there would be a national strike against South Africa becoming a republic. As soon as he and his colleagues were acquitted in the Treason Trial Nelson Mandela went underground and began planning a national strike for 29, 30 and 31 March. In the face of massive mobilisation of state security the strike was called off early. In June 1961 he was asked to lead the armed struggle and helped to establish Umkhonto weSizwe (Spear of the Nation).

On 11 January 1962, using the adopted name David Motsamayi, Nelson Mandela secretly left South Africa. He travelled around Africa and visited England to gain support for the armed struggle. He received military training in Morocco and Ethiopia and returned to South Africa in July 1962. He was arrested in a police roadblock outside Howick on 5 August while returning from KwaZulu-Natal where he briefed ANC President Chief Albert Luthuli about his trip.

He was charged with leaving the country illegally and inciting workers to strike. He was convicted and sentenced to five years' imprisonment which he began serving in the Pretoria Local Prison. On 27 May 1963 he was transferred to Robben Island and returned to Pretoria on 12 June. Within a month police raided a secret hide-out in Rivonia used by ANC and Communist Party activists, and several of his comrades were arrested.

On 9 October 1963 Nelson Mandela joined ten others on trial for sabotage in what became known as the Rivonia Trial. While facing the death penalty his words to the court at the end of his famous ‘Speech from the Dock’ on 20 April 1964 became immortalised:

“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have 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.”

On 11 June 1964 Nelson Mandela and seven other accused: Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Denis Goldberg, Elias Motsoaledi and Andrew Mlangeni were convicted and the next day were sentenced to life imprisonment. Denis Goldberg was sent to Pretoria Prison because he was white, while the others went to Robben Island.

Nelson Mandela’s mother died in 1968 and his eldest son Thembi in 1969. He was not allowed to attend their funerals.

On 31 March 1982 Nelson Mandela was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town with Sisulu, Mhlaba and Mlangeni. Kathrada joined them in October. When he returned to the prison in November 1985 after prostate surgery Nelson Mandela was held alone. Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee visited him in hospital. Later Nelson Mandela initiated talks about an ultimate meeting between the apartheid government and the ANC.

On 12 August 1988 he was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. After more than three months in two hospitals he was transferred on 7 December 1988 to a house at Victor Verster Prison near Paarl where he spent his last 14 months of imprisonment. He was released from its gates on Sunday 11 February 1990, nine days after the unbanning of the ANC and the PAC and nearly four months after the release of his remaining Rivonia comrades. Throughout his imprisonment he had rejected at least three conditional offers of release.

Nelson Mandela immersed himself in official talks to end white minority rule and in 1991 was elected ANC President to replace his ailing friend Oliver Tambo. In 1993 he and President FW de Klerk jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize and on 27 April 1994 he voted for the first time in his life.

On 10 May 1994 he was inaugurated South Africa’s first democratically elected President. On his 80th birthday in 1998 he married Graça Machel, his third wife.

True to his promise Nelson Mandela stepped down in 1999 after one term as President. He continued to work with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund he set up in 1995 and established the Nelson Mandela Foundation and The Mandela Rhodes Foundation.

In April 2007 his grandson Mandla Mandela became head of the Mvezo Traditional Council at a ceremony at the Mvezo Great Place.

Nelson Mandela never wavered in his devotion to democracy, equality and learning. Despite terrible provocation, he never answered racism with racism. His life has been an inspiration to all who are oppressed and deprived; to all who are opposed to oppression and deprivation.

He died at his home in Johannesburg on 5 December 2013.

 

Click to download the abridged version of Nelson Mandela's biography

How South African Businesses are Rising to the Challenge of HIV and AIDS

As well as having a devastating impact on individuals, HIV and AIDS are also having an increasingly negative economic impact on many African businesses and organisations. However, more and more businesses are waking up to huge benefits that well-implemented HIV/AIDS workplace support programs have to offer. These programmes institute policies and procedures that prevent infected employees from discrimination from colleagues, as well as offering free HIV testing to their workforce in an attempt to diagnose and manage the disease at an early stage. This in turn helps employees stay healthy, take control of their illness and encourages the entire workforce to work together to support affected colleagues and work together collaboratively to prevent the illness having a negative impact on the company as a whole.

Anglo American leads the way

One of the earliest organisations to adopt such a proactive approach was Anglo American, one of the world’s largest mining companies. They recognized the heavy toll that HIV was having on its 100,000 strong South African workforce and in 2002 introduced a comprehensive and wide ranging programme in the workplace in order to ensure early diagnosis and work with affected employees to better manage their condition. In doing this, they’ve had a positive impact on not just their employees, but the wider community. They offer counselling to affected staff members as well as awareness raising and prevention campaigns in the wider area to help safeguard their staff and families. They also offer free medical treatment to their employees and their dependants, including free nutritional supplements and anti retroviral drugs. By paying for their staff to have this treatment, Anglo American are improving their overall productivity. It makes great business- as well as social- sense. In 2012 they tested and counselled approximately 95,000 employees and contractors in South Africa, many of whom will go on to raise awareness in the wider community and pass on key messages about early diagnosis and treatment.

Community outreach and support

Another company who are leading the way in supporting personnel with HIV and AIDS are Mercedes-Benz South Africa. However, they’re also taking one step further than many other employers by also reaching out to the wider community: not just dependents of their employees. MBSA support and fund several projects that offer a lifeline to local people, such as the Sange Child and Youth Care Centre in Mdantsan. It was founded in 2010 to provide welfare and care to children in need of protection, including young people affected and infected by HIV/AIDS. MBSA have strong ties to the Mdantsane region as a large portion of their labour force live and work there. MBSA also run the Siyakhana Health Trust in partnership with the Border-Kei Chamber of Business and a German development agency. This project provides 30 other small and medium sized companies in the Eastern Cape with HIV/AIDS awareness training, counselling, testing and care.

The SA Business Coalition on HIV/Aids

Both of these companies are members of Sabcoha, the South African Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, along with other major employers such as Afrox, Volkswagen of South Africa, Unilever and Toyota SA. With a membership base of over 40 corporations, large multinationals and smaller businesses, this vocal and influential coalition is effecting real change in SA by lobbying the government, running research projects and supporting businesses in setting up their own HIV and AIDS workplace testing and support programmes. Sabcoha have also put together a risk reducing training programme for very small businesses and new start ups called ‘BizAIDS’: a toolkit of guidelines and practical steps they can take in order to reduce the risk of infection among their staff.

When all is said and done, the epidemic is having a significant and severe effect on businesses and profitability across the continent, as well as fracturing communities and damaging the feeling of well-being and security that’s essential for a healthy economy. By addressing the illness at a basic, supportive level- as well as sharing best practice- South African businesses are taking care of their moral responsibility to care for their staff members as well as supporting their bottom line: something that’s vital in ensuring they can continue to provide valuable employment opportunities.

Raúl Castro: Biggest funeral in history brings together old foes

Obama, Raul Castro To Speak At Nelson Mandela Memorial

Cuba's president, Raúl Castro, will join Barack Obama and South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, among the speakers paying tribute to Nelson Mandela on Tuesday at what has been described as the biggest funeral in history.

The memorial service in Johannesburg, in effect the first leg of a funeral that culminates with Mandela's burial on Sunday, will also include interfaith prayers, eulogies by four of Mandela's grandchildren and speeches by the presidents of Brazil, Namibia, India and Cuba, along with the vice-president of China. Zuma will deliver the keynote address.

For dignitaries attending the service, not least Obama and Castro, a potential diplomatic minefield awaits. But Zelda la Grange, Mandela's personal assistant for more than a decade, told Reuters: "Tomorrow, people should all be honouring their relationship with Madiba. If it means shaking hands with the enemy, yes, I would like to see that. That is what Nelson Mandela was and actually is – bringing people together despite their differences."

The cover of the official memorial programme bears the title "State memorial service for the late former president Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela" above a picture of South Africa's first black president smiling and wearing a characteristically flamboyant shirt. Inside the programme is an obituary over two pages that concludes: "Mr Mandela is survived by his wife, Graca, three daughters, 18 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren."

Obama and his wife, Michelle, will be joined by the former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W Bush. Also attending are David Cameron, Ban Ki-moon, assorted princes and princesses, and celebrities including Bono, Oprah Winfrey and the Spice Girls. Mandela dubbed the last his "heroes" after meeting the pop group 16 years ago.




Clayson Monyela, South Africa's head of public diplomacy, tweeted: "Pope John Paul's funeral brought together 70 heads of state & 14 leaders of other regions. With #Mandela we're already over 91 & counting."

On Monday workers were inside the 95,000-capacity FNB stadium welding scaffolding for a stage and installing bulletproof glass to protect foreign leaders. Ground crews cut the grass in front of the venue, dubbed the "calabash" because of its shape. The stadium, where Mandela made his last public appearance, at the closing ceremony of the 2010 football World Cup, is expected to fill rapidly on Tuesday, posing a huge security and logistical challenge for South African authorities.

All police leave has been cancelled and thousands of officers called up to direct traffic, protect mourners and help the bodyguards of visiting dignitaries.

Government minister Collins Chabane said officials could not guess how many people would attend or would try to enter the stadium. "Once we see that the numbers are becoming unmanageable … access will be denied," he said.

Chabane appealed to those who were turned away to "respond with decency", pointing out that spillover venues with big screens had been set up.

The government will be seeking to avoid a repeat of the disarray around last year's centenary celebrations of the African National Congress (ANC). African leaders were reportedly forced to go shopping when they found no food or bedding at their accommodation. Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, apparently had to send for some grilled chicken from Nando's.

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All living US presidents to attend Mandela funeral

Thousands of people from across them globe continued to arrive in South Africa and congregated at various places, as the world continues to mourn that country's first black president, Nelson Mandela, who died last Thursday.
Soweto, where Mandela had a home, was a hive of activity, while Qunu, his rural village and where he is to be buried, hardly had any activity.

 

Preparations are underway for one of the largest and high profile funerals the world has witnessed in recent history, with several heads of state and dignitaries expected to descend on the African nation.

An official memorial service will be held at FNB Stadium, in Johannesburg, on Tuesday, with the funeral taking place in Qunu in the Eastern Cape on Sunday.

Topping the bill in attendance is US president Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, as well as three former US presidents — Jimmy Carter, George W Bush and Bill Clinton, and their wives.

British PM David Cameron, Prince Charles and Oprah Winfrey are also amongst the guests who will be in attendance at the memorial.

President Jacob Zuma will address the official memorial service and it is expected that close to 100 000 people will attend.

The programme would also include tributes by Heads of State from the various regions of the globe.

The government announced at the weekend that Mandela's coffin would be taken through the streets of Pretoria in a cortege every morning from Wednesday to Friday.

He will lie in state at the Union Buildings after the main memorial service on Tuesday at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

Since Mandela's death mourners have left flowers at the base of the property's wall in Qunu.

Read the original article on Theafricareport.com : All living US presidents to attend Mandela funeral | Southern Africa

Mandela to be Buried Dec. 15

A large number of world leaders, including President Goodluck Jonathan, President Barack Obama of the United States and British Prime Minister David Cameroon are scheduled to attend the burial of South Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela who died on Thursday.

The anti- apartheid icon will be buried on December 15 in his village in Qunu, Eastern Cape, after a state funeral.

Also in a rare global honour, the flags of several countries in the world will fly at half mast beginning Friday, in honour of Mandela.
President Jacob Zuma who announced the funeral plans for Mandela yesterday afternoon said the official memorial service for the departed icon would be held on December 10 at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

Mandela, who died after a long health struggle at the age of 95 will lie in state from December 11 to 13 at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, Zuma said, adding that the buildings are "where he served as the first president."
"During these days, official memorial services will also be held in all provinces and regions," he said.

"We sincerely thank all South Africans for the dignified manner in which they have respected and responded to the monumental loss of this international icon, who was a symbol of reconciliation, unity, love, human rights and justice in our country and the world.

“Sunday December 8 would be reserved as a national day of prayer and reflection for Mandela. We should all work together to organise the most befitting funeral for this outstanding son of our country and the father of our young nation.

"We call upon all our people to gather in halls, churches, mosques, temples, synagogues and in their homes to pray and hold prayer services and meditation reflecting on the life of Madiba and his contribution to our country and the world," Zuma said.

Zuma had earlier yesterday visited Mandela's home in Houghton, Johannesburg, where the former president passed away, to pay his respects to the Mandela family.
He said the number of tributes pouring in from the international community was a testament to Mandela's calibre of leadership.

"We'll always love Madiba for teaching us that it is possible to overcome hatred and anger in order to build a new nation and a new society. We spend the week mourning his passing. We'll also spend it celebrating a life well lived, a life that we must all emulate for the betterment of our country and Africa. Long live Madiba," Zuma said.

Meanwhile, Jonathan yesterday declared three days of national mourning for Mandela and added that flags are to be flown at half mast across Nigeria during the period.

Jonathan in a statement urged all Nigerians to unite in solidarity with "the brotherly people of South Africa as they mourn the great liberator, freedom fighter and hero of the black race."

He called for special prayers in mosques and churches in Nigeria during the period of mourning which began yesterday, for the peaceful repose of Mandela’s soul.

A special inter-denominational memorial service for Mandela will be held at the State House Chapel on Sunday.

President Obama on Thursday also ordered flags to fly at half-staff at the White House and public buildings in mourning the death of the anti-apartheid hero.

Obama's proclamation, which also extended to US foreign missions, military posts, naval stations and military vessels, is valid through sunset on Monday.

Obama is expected to travel to South Africa next week to participate in memorial events for Mandela. He will be accompanied by former President Bill Clinton.
"President Obama and the first lady will go to South Africa next week to pay their respects to the memory of Nelson Mandela and to participate in memorial events. We'll have further updates on timing and logistics as they become available," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement friday.

Pope Benedict Francis in a statement yesterday paid tribute to Mandela's struggle to forge a just South Africa, praising the anti-apartheid hero's commitment to non-violence, reconciliation and truth.
"I pray that the late president's example will inspire generations of South Africans to put justice and the common good at the forefront of their political aspirations," Francis said in a telegram to Zuma.

The pontiff praised "the steadfast commitment shown by Mandela in promoting the human dignity of all citizens and in forging a new South Africa built on the firm foundations.
The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon also joined global figures yesterday to mourn the exit Mandela.

In a statement issued Friday, Ki Moon described Mandela as “a singular figure on the global stage; a man of quiet dignity and towering achievement; a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration.”
He urged everyone to emulate the virtues which the late Mandela stood for.

"Many around the world were greatly influenced by his selfless struggle for human dignity, equality and freedom.  He touched our lives in deeply personal ways.  At the same time, no one did more in our time to advance the values and aspirations of the United Nations.
“Nelson Mandela devoted his life to the service of his people and humanity, and he did so at great personal sacrifice.  His principled stance and the moral force that under pinned it were decisive in dismantling the system of apartheid.

“Remarkably, he emerged from 27 years of detention without rancour, determined to build a new South Africa based on dialogue and understanding. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission established under his leadership remains a model for achieving justice in societies confronting a legacy of human rights abuses,” the UN secretary general said.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo while reacting to the death of Mandela said that the world had lost a world leader.

According to Obasanjo, as the whole world pays tribute to Madiba, I join them in celebrating the life of a man who raised the beacon of human struggle to lofty heights of nobility and whose life is an example of what we should all aspire for.”
Obasanjo said his demise was a loss to his family “who would miss a caring patriarch, the people of South Africa who would miss a guide, Africa who would miss a role model and the world who would miss a leader.”

Speaking further, he said: “In all situations, he lived nobly and died in nobility. Let us bear in mind that we all have the opportunity to act nobly in whatever position we find ourselves. When we teach our children the lessons for tomorrow, let us be reminded of the lessons Mandela gave the world in forgiveness and forbearance."

While recalling his days with the late Mandela, Obasanjo said one of his earliest contacts with Nelson Mandela was in February 1986 when he visited him at Polls-moor Prison in his capacity as Co-Chairman of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group on South Africa.

He said: "He (Mandela) dressed defiantly in ANC belt and reminded me of his visit to Nigeria in 1962. Though appalled by Apartheid, I left his prison cell deeply convinced that the history of South Africa and, indeed, Africa would be worse off and would not be complete if the purpose for which he was in jail - elimination of apartheid - did not end for him to be in a position to lead his country from racial and tribal division into a rainbow united society.

"The eventual release of Nelson Mandela from prison was inevitable. On a visit to South Africa, I called on Mandela after he was released from prison on Sunday, 11 February 1990. He pulled me out of the hotel and made me to stay with him and his family in their house in Soweto."
He added: "The last time I saw him was about two years ago. I went to visit him at his Johannesburg residence. His health had deteriorated somewhat but he was still very alert but did not talk much during our discussions; Graca did more of the talking."

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka simply remarked: “The soul of Africa has departed and there is nothing miraculous left in the world.”
As many in Africa continue to mourn Mandela, they are hoping their leaders today will be inspired by the anti-apartheid hero to heal another rift widening dangerously across the continent: the wealth gap.

"We need the next Mandela to fight for the poor," said Thomas Kozzih, 30, a community worker in Nairobi's Kibera slum - an expanse of metal shacks butting up against smart new flats that testify to Africa's new growth that has left many behind.

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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Mandelhttp://ancarchives.org.za/?s=Nelson+Mandela

‘Our nation has lost its greatest son’: Nelson Mandela dies at the age of 95

South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died, South Africa's president says.

Mr Mandela, 95, led South Africa's transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison.

He had been receiving intense home-based medical care for a lung infection after three months in hospital.

In a statement on South African national TV, Mr Zuma said Mr Mandela had "departed" and was at peace.

"Our nation has lost its greatest son," Mr Zuma said.

1918 Born in the Eastern Cape

1943 Joined African National Congress

1956 Charged with high treason, but charges dropped after a four-year trial

1962 Arrested, convicted of incitement and leaving country without a passport, sentenced to five years in prison

1964 Charged with sabotage, sentenced to life

1990 Freed from prison

1993 Wins Nobel Peace Prize

1994 Elected first black president

1999 Steps down as leader

2001 Diagnosed with prostate cancer

2004 Retires from public life

2005 Announces his son has died of an HIV/Aids-related illness

He said Mr Mandela would receive a full state funeral, and flags would be flown at half-mast.

BBC correspondents say Mr Mandela's body will be moved to a mortuary in Pretoria, and the funeral is likely to take place next Saturday.



The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was one of the world's most revered statesmen after preaching reconciliation despite being imprisoned for 27 years.

He had rarely been seen in public since officially retiring in 2004.

"What made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves," Mr Zuma said.

"Fellow South Africans, Nelson Mandela brought us together and it is together that we will bid him farewell."

UK Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to Mr Mandela, saying "a great light has gone out in the world".

Earlier, the BBC's Mike Wooldridge, outside Mr Mandela's home in the Johannesburg suburb of Houghton, said there appeared to have been an unusually large family gathering.

A number of government vehicles were there during the evening as well, our correspondent says.

Since he was released from hospital, the South African presidency repeatedly described Mr Mandela's condition as critical but stable.

Born in 1918, Nelson Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1943, as a law student.

He and other ANC leaders campaigned against apartheid (white-only rule).

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964, but was released in 1990 as South Africa began to move away from strict racial segregation.



He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was elected South Africa's first black president in 1994. He stepped down after five years in office.

After leaving office, he became South Africa's highest-profile ambassador, campaigning against HIV/Aids and helping to secure his country's right to host the 2010 football World Cup.

He was also involved in peace negotiations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and other countries in Africa and elsewhere.

What is your reaction to Nelson Mandela's death? Did you meet him? What are your memories of him? You can share your views with us using the form below.  BBC

 

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.