© 2017 South Africa - The Good News
MADIBA – A six part review.
July 18th is a global celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life and the legacy he left for mankind.
We are urged to take 67 minutes ‘time-out’ to do something to commemorate his life and make a small difference.
Some argue we have ‘lost the plot’ – that Mandela’s life deserves much more than 67 minutes of ‘doing good’ once a year.
I wonder what the great man himself would have thought.
In the only face-to-face meeting I had with him (1992 at Lanseria Airport – he was off to confer degrees at the University of the North, I was off to the bush – we chatted over a toasted sandwich!) the impression I have is that he would be deeply pleased, and humbled, by the fact that the world’s people were honouring him, no matter by how much or how little.
My contribution below is to briefly describe the six passages of his life as is described by the Mandela Exhibition at the Apartheid Museum
by Steuart Pennington
- THE CHARACTER FORMING YEARS
- THE EARLY YEARS AS A COMRADE
- LEADERSHIP ROLES and ARREST
- 27 years in Prison – and the will to forgive and to reconcile
- Four years of negotiating our future – some highs, some lows – but never maleficence
- FIVE YEARS AS PRESIDENT of SOUTH AFRICA and a GLOBAL STATESMAN
...[read more]
Sam van Coller: “I have a dream for SA in 2017…”
Sam van Coller was my first boss, in 1978 after a brief stint on the mines where I had no boss, just a Mine Captain who saw me as a Communist Plot sent by Hoofkantoor to liberate die ‘swaartes’, I joined the Institute for Industrial Relations where he was Director.
My learning curve was vertical, I learned, amongst the myriad of changes happening in the SA labour scene, to deeply respect this gentle man and his passion for fairness in South Africa. In 1988 we travelled the length and breadth on Namibia together with his family, another wonderful learning experience.
His Dream for SA resonates. – Intro. By Steuart Pennington
...[read more]
I came to South Africa seven years ago from Zimbabwe seeking greener pastures as my family history included poverty and abuse.
For almost a year I earned peanuts as a domestic worker when approached by girls who told me about getting quick and easy cash. Naturally I agreed to join them when I saw them living better lives from selling sex in Musina. I got sucked into this “hassle-free” business and had been in sex trade for a while before being introduced to Red Cross in Limpopo through their outreach programme.
I was pregnant and continued to do sex work on her first encounter with SARCS. I stopped before giving birth but continued when my baby was born.
I was educated through Prevention from Mother to Child (PMTCT) programme by the Red Cross health promoters. Fortunately, through this intervention my baby was born HIV negative.
...[read more]
THIS WEEK'S FAST FACT
Nelson Mandela
#MandelaDay: In November 2009, the UN General Assembly declared 18 July ‘Nelson Mandela International Day’ in recognition of the former South African President’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom.
Mandela Day has become an international campaign, now observed in 149 countries, which urges everyone, everywhere to take concrete steps towards improving life for others. (www.Eighty20.co.za)
