Nelson Mandela Foundation Makes Donation to Ebenezer Hannah Home

Boniswa Nyati hands over books to Ebenezer Hannah Home founder Shirley Merime

Continuing the spirit of Mandela Day, staff from the Nelson Mandela Foundation visited the Ebenezer Hannah Home outside Johannesburg, South Africa, to make a donation of clothing, shoes, toys, books, blankets and crockery.

These are the heartwarming stories we love to read about - organizations who do good work in their community, like the Ebenezer Hannah Home. The home was founded by Shirley Merime and houses 75 orphaned and abandoned children and 58 elderly people.

Shirley Merime expressed her gratitude and also thanked Mr Nelson Mandela for teaching South Africans not to have vengeance but to have love and forgiveness. She said: “Tata Mandela reached out for a better future and so that is what we are trying to teach our kids here.”

Source: The Nelson Mandela Foundation

Nelson Mandela Foundation Opposes Xenophobia

Read this interesting article from the Nelson Mandela Foundation about xenophobia, a hot topic at the recent “Dialogue for Social Change” seminar in South Africa.

The message from the Nelson Mandela Foundation is it's important that communities engage with one another about the issues they face. The Nelson Mandela Foundation hosted experts and community members to speak about the outbreak of xenophobic violence in South Africa.

The foundation's chief executive, Achmat Dangor, said: "We brought into one room people with a lot of expertise to take this message to communities".

Paul Graham from the Institute for Democracy in South Africa, spoke about knowledge being key to building trust and understanding. He touched on how, when research is conducted into some of the complex issues with which South Africa grapples, there is little feedback given to the community, meaning that there is little they can do to change. Sharing knowledge leads to a better society, he argued.

He said: “In truly democratic communities, we learn that, when we share knowledge and individuals prosper, our experience as a society expands for the better.”

Nelson Mandela Foundation Facilitates Discussion to Help Orphans

Tiyiselani, Kurhula and Shongi Shisingi, pictured on the left

The spirit of Mandela Day which was highlighted on July 18, continued in the rural community of Giyani in South Africa.

When a concerned teacher told the local church about the plight of three teenage girls living in a one-room shack, the community responded. They approached the Nelson Mandela Foundation for help to restore the dignity of this child-headed household.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation responded through its "Dialogue" program, which encourages and facilitates discussion around resolving critical social issues. It wasn't long before NGOs, the local church and business community had come together to build a four-room house for the teenagers. And to provide the girls with a sense of belonging, the Presbyterian Church committed to be their guardian.

"The conversations’ overwhelming appeal to the local community’s compassion proved that simple conversations can bring people together to build strong, supportive communities." - The Nelson Mandela Foundation

Read here for more of the story of the house that kindness built.

Positive Voice About HIV AIDS

The opening sentence, “Emma Cole climbed into her coffin and lay, contemplating her death” is bound to get your attention.

Read more about how this brave lady responded to the life-changing news in 1991 that she was HIV positive.

She speaks frankly about the stigma and misconceptions of the disease – after all, many assume HIV AIDS is an unlikely disease for a heterosexual, one-partner woman.

A 46664 supporter and campaigner for HIV AIDS prevention, Emma has turned her experience as a woman living with HIV into a positive story of educating others, in the hope that the younger generation will not put themselves at risk. Through her initiative, Positive Voice, she visits school children across the United Kingdom and presents the facts about HIV AIDS.

Speaking at over 100 schools each year. She likes to think that, because she doesn’t fit the profile people might expect of an HIV-positive person, she shatters illusions that they have about the virus.

Emma is shocked at the lack of basic knowledge about HIV AIDS in schools. Education is key in driving awareness of HIV AIDS prevention, and it’s a core message of the 46664 Bangle project. People wearing the 46664 Bangle raise awareness about global social issues.

Every 46664 Bangle sold directs funds to HIV AIDS prevention projects, such as Khululeka, the theatre group that educates students in South Africa about HIV AIDS and how to behave responsibly.

It's through individual voices such Emma Cole's, and the voice of the 46664 campaign of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, that we are able to continue education about global social issues. Read the full article about Emma Cole here and her September update on how she's feeling, here.

Graça Machel, Wife of Nelson Mandela and Spokesperson for The Elders, Talks About Ending HIV Infections

Graça Machel speaks at press conference about ending Pediatric HIV/AIDS.

Photo: Stephane de Sakutin, AFP/Getty Images

Graça Machel urged African leaders to commit to ending HIV infections among children and women, in the world’s worst affected continent. Speaking at the launch of the Campaign to End Pediatric HIV/AIDS, Graça Machel highlighted how little budget is assigned by African countries to health issues. She pointed out that Africa cannot only rely on international commitment to the eradication of HIV/AIDS - the pandemic has to be addressed just as conscientiously by African leaders.

"You tell me next time we meet how much is being spent in wars and defence...but how much is being spent in health, how much is being spent in agriculture to produce food for our kids," Machel told delegates.

"We will not get there when African leaders do not get moved, they do not get moved by the hundreds of thousands of people who are dying on this continent when we know that this can be prevented," she said.

She said she would lobby for African governments to meet pledges made in 2001 to devote at least 15 percent of national budgets to health.

Highlight of US & Chinese Students' Trip to South Africa Was Seeing Where Nelson Mandela Was Imprisoned

A group of students from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) in the United States, and Shantou University in China, took a journalist trip to South Africa, reporting on the 2010 FIFA World Cup and its impact on life in South Africa.

Their task was to post stories via blogs, photo galleries, podcasts and sound slides; gaining hands-on, multimedia experience and also learning how to work with students from another country. Even though the World Cup provided a dramatic and exciting backdrop for their stay, the students also got a taste of the social, and economic climate and the political issues of South Africa.

"The six journalists left the trip with an open mind and transitioned out of their comfort zone,” said Joe Ritchie, FAMU knight chair and professor of journalism, who organized the trip.

Students said the highlight of the trip was their visit to Robben Island, where they were able to see where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Read more about their experience here.