Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital launches legacy book

Stories behind the construction of the state-of-the-art Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital in Parktown can now be explored in a new book.

Launched in January, A Dream Realised: The Challenges and Triumphs of Building a Mandela Legacy was written by two phenomenal writers and academics, Ulrike Hill and Zanele Chakela, boasting that it was a ‘worth-doing’ project in their hectic schedules.

The book took Hill and her team of 10 – including Chakela, other writers and editors – two years to put together and taught her a lot about the challenges and successes behind the project.

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The team worked with trustees, CEO Dr Mandisa Moholwana and other prominent people including the medical professionals to ensure the legacy of Mandela was told and preserved accordingly. “We had to do interviews with the board of trustees of the hospital and the nursing staff to the doctors and specialists as well as professors, all talking about their respective experiences and contributions in the building of this hospital.

“The book is not about patients as initially perceived by some people. It actually acknowledges people who played and still play a key role in ensuring the success of this hospital. Also, it talks about Nelson Mandela’s legacy for children.”

She added that although it was not easy to decide what to cut and what to highlight from the more than 200-page transcript, it was definitely worth it. With a foreword by Justice Yvonne Mokgoro and an introduction by Mandela’s widow Graça Machel, Hill is very excited about the final product.

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