On July 18, Nelson Mandela will celebrate his 92nd birthday. In 2009, the UN agreed to commemorate Mandela's birthday yearly in recognition of this Nobel Peace Prize laureate's contribution to democracy; equality; reconciliation; diversity; responsibility; respect and freedom.
On this day, you are encouraged to devote 67 minutes of your time to a public service, a selfless act. You can feed the hungry, care for an elderly, donate clothes to the homeless or orphanages or any other activities that remind you of the beautiful qualities that makes us human, our ubuntu.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu explained that, "Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality - Ubuntu - you are known for your generosity. We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world."
This day is here to inspire us, to remind us, that we can make a difference in this world, no matter how small, and to the things we see daily that overwhelms us - poverty, corruption, discrimination. This is your opportunity to extend your goodness, your ubuntu, to someone else.
Please do your part for the global movement of Ubuntu.
