Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Tuesday unveiled an artwork, made up of the handprints of 67 famous people, to auction for charity in former president Nelson Mandela's honour ahead of his 93rd birthday on Monday.
“This is a fantastic idea,” Tutu said after he and Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille removed a red velvet cloth from the artwork at the Cape Town city hall.
“Madiba has said 'it is in your hands' and each of us can do something, each of us can just do a small thing, sometimes it can just be a smile, or drying a tear. Do what God moves you to do.”
He was referring to Mandela's call for every South African to contribute to the community for 67 minutes on his birthday, which was declared International Mandela Day by the UN in 2009.
Tutu and De Lille's handprints are on the canvas, along with those of former minister Kader Asmal who died last month, Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Bafana Bafana midfielder Steven Pienaar.
He feigned outrage when De Lille teased that his hands were “ugly”.
“How can you say that? You are supposed to be the mayor for everybody.”
Tutu then paid tribute to Mandela, saying South Africans owe the fact that they enjoyed a peaceful transition to democracy to him.
“Without him we would not be here. Without him, almost certainly this country would have gone up in flames.”
“We ought not to forget that we touched greatness and let that inspire us. We have many problems in this country but we also have the capacity to resolve them and for God's sake, let's make this a country we can all be proud of.”
The five-by-four-metre canvas embellished with beadwork by crafters from Khayelitsha will be auctioned at a gala dinner at the city hall on Saturday. The proceeds will go to the Nelson Mandela Foundation. – Sapa