Mandela International Day is celebrated every year worldwide in recognition of Nelson Mandela’s birthday on July 18.
According to the Mandela Day website it was inspired by a call from the honourable late former president of South Africa. It is more than a celebration of Madiba’s life and legacy; it is a global movement to honour his life’s work and an act to change the world for the better.
There are however some hypocrites who have turned this wonderful initiative into a money-making scheme and some sort of popularity contest. These are the people that only come out at this time of the year pretending to care about the substance abusers, about the poor who do not have food or blankets, acting as if they care about a school that has been dilapidated for years, or about that child that has been going to school without shoes since her registration and lastly, suddenly developing an interest in knitting!
These people should be referred to as frauds because if they ‘cared’ so much, would they not have ‘cared’ 24/7, 365 days a year? Nelson Mandela is turning in his grave, realising that the democracy and the rainbow nation that he fought for is in tatters.
The poor are getting even poorer; the number of the unemployed is reaching its millions, the poorest of the poor still lack basic amenities, our parliament has been turned into a circus while the ‘fat cats’ are getting fatter by the day through our taxes. Mandela Day should be a global call to action that celebrates the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world, the ability to make an impact.
It would be an honour if such a day can serve to bring together people around the world to fight poverty and promote peace, love and reconciliation throughout the year, not only for one day or one month. Think about it. “I have learnt that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.
The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear” – Nelson Mandela.
Lerato…
