The world was abuzz yesterday as children in far-flung villages across the globe performed small acts of kindness; corporate executives rolled up their sleeves to join the trenches and build classrooms, clinics and playgrounds; and celebrities such as Miss World and Miss Continental from six continents joined hands with sports heroes, housewives and people from all walks of life to fight poverty and pack a record number of food packages for the indigent and needy.
The legacy lives on as millions did their bit to beat poverty and demonstrate that a more caring world is possible and within our reach. Today 1.4 billion live in poverty, earning less than $1.25 (R16.13) a day while 16000 children every day die of hunger, one every 5 seconds.
Every 15 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease. Over 140 million children under 18 years in developing countries have lost one or both parents. About 12 million people are trafficked into forced labour and sexual exploitation. Every day millions go without food, water and shelter.
President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela reminded us that poverty can be beaten and that we can create a better and more caring world. He reminded us that “overcoming poverty is not a task of charity; it is an act of justice” .Yesterday we emulated his example in myriad ways as we restore justice and bring joy, laughter and happiness to the impoverished and those languishing in poverty.
Yesterday we honoured the legacy of our hero by making it and indeed every day a Mandela Day by joining hands and uprooting the causes of poverty. Madiba reminded us that “like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings”.
Nowadays we can witness those wise words in actions as millions respond to his call.
International Nelson Mandela Day yesterday honoured the legacy of a global icon who dedicated his life to the cause of freedom, justice and equality. He is held in great reverence by all the struggling masses of the world for whom he became a beacon of hope and light.
He demonstrated that it is indeed possible for truth and justice to triumph over oppression and tyranny. His very name invokes a deep reverence that appeals to that which is best in all of us - an appeal so powerful that it has moved royalty, presidents, religious leaders, captains of industry, sports heroes and legends, schoolchildren and educators, and ordinary women and men from all walks of life to action.
Yesterday millions of people did their bit to make a difference in the lives of people on the African continent. Through this we honour the life and legacy of Madiba when he said: “If freedom was the crown which the fighters of liberation sought to place on the head of Mother Africa, let the upliftment, happiness, prosperity and comfort of her children be the jewel of the crown.”
We remember that he was not only a champion of freedom for Africa but for oppressed masses all over the world. No other cause was so close to his heart as the struggle of the Palestinian people. It pained him to see apartheid Israel mete out the same indignity, dehumanising oppression and the worst form of discrimination ranging from pass laws, body searches of elderly women, illegal settlements, and imprisonment without trial, summary executions, and the displacement of millions from the land of their birth without any hope of return. He called the Palestinian struggle “the greatest moral issue of our time” and said that; “our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people”.
Yesterday we honoured that legacy and we commit again to our freedom and the freedom of the Palestinian people.
We express our gratitude and appreciation to the millions across the world who have kept the legacy alive. Your acts of beating poverty and restoring dignity truly make a difference. The legacy will never die!
Mandla is the grandson of Nelson Mandela