Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday said he felt like he was walking in Nelson Mandela's footsteps when he visited the Red Cross Children and was interviewed on RX Radio - hosted by the world famous children's facility's very own patients.
Ramaphosa visited South Africa's only dedicated child health institution as part of Mandela Day activities.
The president said the radio interview with the young patients left him hopeful about the future of the country.
"In the radio interview they asked me lots of difficult questions. They are very articulate. They are very direct, but what impressed me most was that they are so full of hope despite the many challenges and difficulties that they are afflicted with and the real health challenges that they face," Ramaphosa told a large media contingent outside the hospital.
"These are young people who really fill my heart with a lot of confidence about the future."
He said the visit left him with good memories of the man Mandela Day has come to celebrate.
"This is what Nelson Mandela was about - love for young people, love for children, and in many ways maybe I'm walking in Nelson Mandela's footsteps by coming here to the children's hospital," said Ramaphosa.
"Particularly on his birthday, one is filled with good memories of Nelson Mandela and we would like to carry on doing what Nelson Mandela did for the children of South Africa but also for the children of the world, showing love, showing compassion and showing all the good care for young people."