Nelson Mandela’s daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, has been selected as a brand ambassador for The SleepOut Movement Events for her influence in spreading the message of positive social change and for encouraging business leaders.
Others include Dr Brylyne Chitsunge, a pan-African Ambassador for Food Security in Africa, Sir Nicholas Wolpe, a founder and executive officer of the Liliesleaf Trust, and Baz Dreisinger, professor of English at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
“We salute and thank these exceptional people, who use their influence to spread the message of positive social change and for the important part that they play in encouraging business leaders to #RiseToTheChallenge by participating in one of our 2018 SleepOut Movement Events,” said Ali Gregg, chief executive of SleepOut.
Taking place next month, the events embody two special chapters, the Nelson Mandela CEO SleepOut on July 11 and the Nelson Mandela Legacy SleepOut on July 18. Both pay tribute to Madiba’s legacy in what would have been his centennial year.
Events allowing for the broader South African public to become involved include The Nelson Mandela South Africa SleepOut and The Nelson Mandela School SleepOut Events that also take place on July 18 across the country.
“There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return,” Mandela once said.
Following in the humanitarian footsteps of her father, Makaziwe, his eldest child, holds a BA in social work from Fort Hare University and
an Honours degree in sociology from the then University of Natal.
In 1984, she received a Fulbright Foreign Scholarship and a Fulbright Distinguished Fellowship Award to study at the University of Massachusetts in the US for a Master's in sociology and a doctorate in anthropology.
Chitsunge said: “We have the ability to satisfy all of the five pillars for the sustainable integration of the most vulnerable in our society, the homeless, through the development of sustainable agricultural practices in our communities.”
“These pillars include shelter, nutrition, health, education and community upliftment, all of which can be attained.”
Chitsunge is the founder of The Qunu Food Security Project in the Eastern Cape.
The project advocates food security through the empowerment of farmers and women in particular, not only in her native South Africa but across the continent.