Mandela Day In Alice

Sunny Saturday morning. 9 o’clock! And the fun began.
This year the Nelson Mandela Institute decided to partner with the University of Fort Hare in celebrating the life of Africa’s legend through service.

The ‘Call’ is for the dedication of each person’s time and energy to making a difference in their community by allocating 67 minutes of their time to helping those who are less fortunate than themselves.
Students and learners from the surrounding communities joined in as we planted vegetables at the nearby township of Hillcrest, cleaned up the centre of Alice town, and went through to the Victoria Hospital where we were joined by Umhlobo Wenene’s Vuyani Bonco.

The Nkonkobe Municipality provided rubbish bags and a rubbish truck for the disposal of the collected waste. We ended the day retiring to a feast at the University campus. Kids played on the lawn with community elders as local DJs battled it out for the favour of their audience.

It is often said by many that young people are not as responsive and responsible as the generation of Tata Mandela, but on the 24th of July, this myth was proven wrong. It will remain in the hearts of Alice residents for many more years to come.