Nelson Mandela will spend his 95th birthday in a hospital in Pretoria, South Africa, as his home nation and countries around the world prepare to celebrate his life.
South Africans have been asked to spend 67 minutes of the day committing charitable acts, which will honor his 67 years of public service, which has included working as an activist and lawyer, and being imprisoned and elected president. This will include renovating schools, cleaning hospitals and providing food to the poorest areas in the country.
Mr Mandela has been in hospital since June 8, and he is currently in a critical but stable condition, however he continue to suffers from a lung infection.
Earlier this week it was even predicted by former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, that Mr Mandel might be discharged from hospital soon, and that he could recover from his illness at home.
Nelson Mandela’s daughter, Zindzi, admitted on Wednesday that he had made tremendous progress and also suggested that he would be coming home soon.
Mr Mandela’s birthday is known as Nelson Mandela International Day, after the UN declared it as such so that they could recognise the Nobel Prize winner’s contributions to the globe.
Nelson Mandela’s day of celebration will begin with millions of school children across South Africa singing “Happy Birthday” to the former president. It will also include a poster project, that has so far received 700 submissions from across the globe, which will depict the global vision of Nelson Mandela and be unveiled on Wednesday, before being auctioned off later for charity.
Tributes have already started to flood in for Mr Mandela, with Jacob Zuma, the current president of South Africa, referring to Mandela’s clan name during his remarks. “Let us return Madiba’s sacrifices and contributions through our own efforts to build a better society,” stated president Zuma.
How will you be celebrating Nelson Mandela’s 95th birthday ?
