#ActionAgainstPoverty #MandelaDay #inspirechange
Nelson Mandela led a pivotal role in the development of not only his own country but as a lesson for current or would-be apartheid states around the world. South Africa has a history of ~400 years that has grown to include many different peoples and backgrounds, including Dutch, Zulu, Portuguese, Indian, the native Khoikhoi, and others. It boasts 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu.
South Africa’s history is filled with division and reconciliation: prehistoric migrations, Portuguese exploration, Dutch economic colonization, British occupation, Shaka Zulu, The Battle of Blood River and creation of the Free Orange State, the gold & diamond rush, the Anglo-Zulu war, 2 Boer wars, Independence, and Apartheid. The prevailing thought for hundreds of years was that a state with a separation of people and culture was the only possibility.
It was not until Nelson Mandela changed all of that. Due to industrial, medical, and scientific progress, which radically elevated the standard of living, the time was right for change… almost. Mandela’s vision of a truly united and mixed South Africa was a struggle that took most of his life, and mostly in prison. Displaying an unrelenting resolve for the pursuit of liberty & equality for his country took his entire life to accomplish but he became an icon for the rest of the world to pursue what we know in our moral fiber to be correct and proper.
Today, Do What You Can, With What You Have, Where You Are!
