Mandela Day Calls Us All To Action
10 years ago today the United Nations General Assembly declared Nelson Mandela’s birthday of July 18th to be “Nelson Mandela International Day”. It is an international day to celebrate, honor, and recognize the life, the legacy, the ideals, and the struggle of the former South African president. Nelson Mandela’s long and arduous journey from political prisoner of South Africa’s apartheid government to becoming that same nations president is an invaluable example of perseverance and hope in the face of unimaginable opposition.
Mandela Day is a day to actively participate in the benevolent goal of making society and the world a better and fairer place for all. We often hold out hope that someone somewhere will do something to combat injustices large and small. President Barack Obama famously related a very poignant quote that speaks to that hope for someone to stand in and do something when he said “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for”. There are many opportunities daily for one to embody that idea and to put those words into action.
The Nelson Mandela foundation aims to make Mandela Day every day. They have outlined 10 goals across the categories of education and literacy, food and nutrition, shelter, sanitation, and active citizenship to be carried out over the next 10 years.
Education and Literacy
Goal 1 – Provision of quality education for all children.
Goal 2 – All children in Early Childhood Development (ECD) to have access to learning resources for development.Food and Nutrition
Goal 3 – Reduce hunger in families through the provision of nutritious meals.
Goal 4 – Eliminate malnutrition and stunting in young children.Shelter
Goal 5 – Provide safe shelter for families to live and thrive in.
Goal 6 – Eliminate homelessness.Sanitation
Goal 7 – Sanitation that is safe in every school.
Goal 8 – Enable access of safe sanitation for all communities.Active citizenship
Goal 9 – Dedicate more resources to supporting poverty eradication projects.
Goal 10 – Encourage public participation and activist voices towards the eradication of poverty and inequality.
Fairness and equality are not finite resources. One person doesn’t have fewer rights when another person gains rights. Even small contributions make a difference. Major change is the result of a team effort. Nelson Mandela’s widow and former first lady of South Africa Graça Machel said, “Mandela Day is a reminder that any one of us has the power to take initiative and drive transformation,” in a speech commemorating Nelson Mandela.
This type of selfless giving and active participation is sorely needed in the world today. We are facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles globally as well as locally in areas such as climate change, health care, access to education, and the rise of the types of detestable thinking and behavior that set Nelson Mandela on the journey that he ultimately triumphed over. So, these types of altruistic movements and organizations and commemorations, like Mandela Day, serve as a reminder that the someone or someones we hope will make an appearance, are already here and striving to make those changes. However, it is they who are waiting on us.
Additional
https://www.mandeladay.com
https://www.nelsonmandela.org
https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/look-at-mandela-day-as-a-way-of-being-not-an-event-graca-machel-20190718
https://nationaltoday.com/nelson-mandela-international-day/
Jaylon Carter is a blogger, social media marketing consultant, former Congressional Campaign Media & Communications Director, national labor union vice block leader, and a Hip Hop artist who performs under the stage name Timid (@timidmc).
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