“It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.”– Nelson Mandela
Mandela Day, a day that not only marks Madiba’s birthday but also contribution to freedom, is almost here! To reflect the 67 years that Nelson Mandela spent fighting against apartheid for a democratic country for all, Mandela Day is about dedicating 67 minutes of your time on 18 July to help others. Want to join the movement but aren’t sure what to do? We’ve put together a list of various drives that will be happening tomorrow all over the country, here’s how to get involved:
Johannesburg:
Joburg Child Welfare
Location: 1st Floor, Edura House 41 Fox Street
The time for sitting back and hoping for change has long passed: South Africans need to join in and protect the women and children of this country. The Vital Foundation will be rallying Vital Health Foods staff and volunteers all over the country to join in the fight against woman and child abuse. To make a contribution that can have a lasting impact, volunteers are asked to give 67 minutes of their time.
For more information, visit their website or mail [email protected].
Cape Town:
Animal Rescue Organisation
Location: 5 Olieboom Road, Schaapkraal, Ottery
This haven for creatures great and small is in need of a little facelift, and for Mandela Day, human friends are invited to do 67 minutes of painting, gardening and rabbit and pony tending. The Animal Rescue Organisation aims to provide support and care for animals in Cape Town’s more impoverished areas by providing veterinary treatment at mobile clinics and finding homes for abandoned cats and dogs. The centre could also do with paint, plant and pet care goods, so perhaps if you can’t volunteer your time, you can still help out by dropping off a few necessary items.
For more information, call 021 396 5511.
Drop off books for Prestwich Primary School at the Cape Quarter Lifestyle Village
Location: 27 Somerset Road, De Waterkant
The Cape Quarter Lifestyle Village has teamed up with a few partners to host a Mandela Day book drive on its premises. Bring along an old book or buy a new one at the Bay Bookshop (and get 20% off) to put in the box that will go to the young readers at Prestwich Primary School in Green Point.
For more information, call 021 421 1111.
Durban:
Highway Hospice
Location: 59 Locksley Drive, Sherwood
All volunteers are welcome on the day. They would love you to come and help them with several projects that we have in mind. They need volunteers to paint and neaten up their Day Centres in Umlazi, Chesterville, Inanda and Phoenix. Some of their outpatients live in very sad conditions and to go and put on a coat of paint will definitely spruce up their day.
For more information, visit their website.
67 Pictures for Mandela
Location: Smart Exchange Bulding Ground Floor, 5 Walnut Road (Next to the ICC)
The public is invited to pose for a picture which taken behind a Mandela wallpaper for R20, the participants will be given a piece of paper to jot a message that will be put inside a pair of shoes that will be donated to 20 of the most needy school children in the area of Umlazi in the South of Durban.
For more information, mail [email protected].
A Day For Giving
Clothes and food are being collected to go donate to an orphanage in Malikazi, south of Durban. This orphanage has kids who are struggling for clothes and food as they dot have any constant funding for the place. These Words Projects and its ambassadors will visit the home and dedicate the whole day, cleaning, cutting the grass, cooking, feeding, getting to know the kids and also motivating the kids about life.
For more information, mail [email protected].
Nationwide
Breadline Africa: Mandela Day Libraries Project
Breadline Africa, in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, launched a project in 2011 that identified primary schools that were in need of library facilities. Since then, this has been achieved through the placing of repurposed shipping containers to supply an almost-instant library facility. Literacy levels and student’s marks and performance at basic education level has improved, and the long-term benefit is that more children complete high school, opening possibilities of tertiary education, and better employment prospects!
For more information, visit their website, or mail Jade Orgill at [email protected].
Johannesburg and Cape Town
Meals in Memory
The event will take place in two locations: The Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg and the Canal Walk Shopping Centre in Cape Town. They hope to involve over 4 000 volunteers to package 670 000 meals on the day, the largest amount of meals packaged on a single day by Stop Hunger Now SA to date. Each volunteer will package enough meals to feed a pre-school child 3 meals a week for the school year. This means 4 000 children will now receive a regular, nutritious meal.
To enter, just click through to the website!
You can also contact Jean van Wyk in Johannesburg at 011 872 2498 or
or David Jacobs in Cape Town at 021 705 6278 or
Selected Ster-Kinekor cinemas
Free screenings of “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
At 09:45, you can attend free screenings of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom at selected Ster-Kinekor cinemas across the country. Visit their
