Madiba Is Well – International Concern About Nelson Mandela

The news of Nelson Mandela being admitted to hospital this week was met with worldwide concern, and none more so than in South Africa, where the apartheid icon continues to unite the country through his legacy of humble leadership and reconciliation.

As media swarmed around Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, President Jacob Zuma called on journalists to “balance the quest for stories with acting within the bounds of human decency and ensuring the respect for human dignity.”

Surgeon General Vejaynand Ramlakan said in this video interview that Nelson Mandela was “in high spirits. Medically, at present, there is no need to panic.” Ramlakan told reporters, “His amazing positive attitude allows him to cope with the difficulties of old age, with the greatest of grace”.

The 46664 Bangle team in the US wishes Madiba well and tends to agree with Sizwe Mbatha, 28, a bank consultant in South Africa, who said, “Yes, he is a world icon but he is also a human being and he deserves his privacy. We should all just let him rest now."

See official statement on the Nelson Mandela Foundation web site.

Nelson Mandela Foundation on Xenophobia

Xenophobia - a word most people had never heard of, let alone knew how to pronounce, until 2008 when South Africa experienced a violent outbreak of xenophobic behavior.

Soon, it became the ugly buzzword used to describe the intolerance of migrant workers and illegal immigrants - the "hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers or of their politics or culture". Attacks on these foreigners highlighted the underlying social issues causing thousands of people to leave their country in search of a better life in South Africa, as well as the response from struggling communities who see the influx of foreigners as a threat to their own income and job opportunities.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation recently facilitated a series of dialogues in an effort to build social cohesion and understanding between South Africans and foreign nationals. The Foundation has just released a book capturing this two-year-long process, its achievements and challenges.

Read more about key principles such as community ownership, inclusivity, mutual respect and fundamental human rights.

Ricky Gervais in Support of 46664 Campaign

Ricky Gervais and 46664 - It's In Our Hands

Funny man, Ricky Gervais, (hosting the Golden Globes tonight – January 16th) gets serious in this video, in support of the Nelson Mandela Foundation 46664. He mentions AIDS statistics
One in four people in sub-Saharan Africa are living with HIV AIDS.

HIV AIDS has killed more people in the last decade than all the wars and disasters of the past fifty years.

And finishes with the 46664 slogan, “It’s In Our Hands” - it’s in our hands to make a difference.