Nelson Mandela, the inspirational leader in South Africa who helped overturn a form of government that was based on race.
Nelson Mandela is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in fully representative democratic elections. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti- apartheid activist and leader. He spent 27 years in prison, much of it on Robben Island, on convictions for crimes that included sabotage committed while he struggle against apartheid.
Nelson Mandela Said: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people.
I have fought against white
domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve.
But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Mandela has received more than one hundred awards over four decades, most notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
Mandela has not only impacted South Africa but the entire world. He is fondly known in South Africa as Madiba (muh-dee-buh), a clan
name loosely translated to mean 'father of the nation.' I will share with you some of his quotes.
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world"
"It always seems impossible until its done"
"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb"
"In my country we go to prison first and then become President"
"Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will"
"There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires"
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others"
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion,” he wrote in “Long Walk to Freedom.”
He is now at peace.
Rest in Peace,
Nelson Mandela