Nelson Mandela's birthday prompts national outpouring of service
(Read article summary)The United Nations called for people to perform 67 minutes of community service on Nelson Mandela International Day, which marks the iconic South African leader's birthday.
Not many world leaders have their birthday celebrated internationally – but not many world leaders are as iconic as South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, whose leadership in bringing an end to apartheid in South Africa is so well-known that he needs little introduction.
In 2009, the United Nations declared July 18 “Nelson Mandela International Day” in honor of his birthday. This year the UN called for people worldwide to perform 67 minutes of community service in honor of Mandela’s 67 years of public service.
“It's the power of one as never seen before,” writes reporter Tlalane Tshetlo in South Africa’s The New Age. “From the farthest dorpie [village] to the poorest township, from the city lights of New York to the glitterati of Cape Town’s jet set, Nelson Mandela has galvanised the world into doing good deeds on his birthday that will leave a lasting legacy.”
More than 500 projects were registered with Mandela Day, all but a handful of them in South Africa. One of the most famous was a group bike trip that crisscrossed the country for eight days, performing 67 minutes of service in seven different locations.
