Nelson Mandela International Day commemorates the lifetime of service Nelson Mandela gave to South Africa and the world. It was launched on his birthday, 18 July, in 2009 via a unanimous decision by the UN General Assembly.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation decided to dedicate 2017 to honouring a great statesman and making every day a Mandela Day by encouraging everyone to take action against poverty in a way that will bring about sustainable change.
With this message in mind, Diakonia collected 107 (initially only 67!) kids and transported them to Redhill School in Sandton to spend the day at the school in celebration of Mandela day.
The kids were paired with a leaner from the school and the leaner had to prepare lunch to share with the kids a day prior to the event.
The kids spend time with their buddy’s the whole day and participated in activities together. Some kids even exchanged numbers with their buddy’s and we hoping beautiful friendships will be created from this experience.
KOTULA 4
Kotula 4’s Mandela day event was also a huge success. Pensioners and kids from the community were presented with handmade blankets and ponchos.
The plan is to establish a feeding scheme from Kotula 4 which will feed about 50 kids twice a week before the end of this year. From the nutritional crops it is yielding thus far, we’re well on our way to reaching this goal.
The message behind Mandela Day is simple – everyone has the ability and the responsibility to change the world for the better. We as Evolve are proud to be part of the Kotula and Diakonia initiatives in improving the lives of children.
