Across the world, people are getting behind Mandela Day

Kaya FM donated blankets to the Soweto Home for the Aged

July 16, 2010 – As the second annual Nelson Mandela Day approaches, people across the world are pledging to do something good within their local communities.

Mandela Day, July 18, is a day of service where individuals from around the world are encouraged to spend at least 67 minutes doing something good for their local community, in honour of the 67 years that Nelson Mandela dedicated to fighting social injustice.

The Melville Sector Crime Forum is donating over 50 litres of paint to anyone that requires it for their Mandela Day plans. The paint, which is in a mix of colours and quantities, would be suitable for school, church or community centre refurbishment projects.

Cynthia Rose, chairperson of the Melville Sector Crime Forum, said: “We have quite a bit of left-over paint from community projects as part of our preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. We would therefore like to donate this paint to anyone who has a community project that requires paint, particularly with Mandela Day coming up this Sunday, July 18.”

For more information or to take up the offer please call her on +27 72 570 1586.

Kaya FM have committed to a year-long campaign focused on regular community service, truly embracing the idea of making every day a Mandela Day. The 2010 Year of Good campaign is in response to the Gift of Giving Award that the company received from Vodacom and the Nelson Mandela Foundation in 2009, and their desire to be involved regularly in making a difference.

Every month in 2010, Kaya FM has been doing community service work that addresses issues of poverty, education, health, crime and housing, with a particular focus on women and children.

They are currently running a blanket drive to encourage their listeners and staff to donate blankets and soup. The 500 blankets collected will be donated to the Metro Evangelical Services (MES) Impilo Programme in Jeppestown, Siyakhula Children’s Home in Orange Farm, and the Soweto Home for the Aged.

Kaya FM is also running a Winter Back-to-School campaign to ask people to donate warm clothes, tracksuits and beanies to clothe Grade one, two and three children who don’t have winter school clothes.

The clothes will be donated to schools in Tembisa, Rabie Ridge and Meadowlands and the drive is also being supported by the Tim Tebeila Foundation.

In Italy, the Firenze City Council, in conjunction with the Mandela Forum, have arranged for a video about Mr Mandela, the movie Invictus and Mandela Day, to be aired at the Mandela Forum as well as at an open air cinema in Florence. The Firenze City Council has committed to supporting Mandela Day and encourages all citizens of Florence to get involved in the global movement for good by signing a resolution in support of Mandela Day. They are also spreading the word about Mandela Day by wearing T-shirts branded with Mr Mandela’s quotation: “Where there is poverty and sickness, including AIDS, where human beings are being oppressed, there is more work to be done. Our work is for freedom for all.”

To read more about the other projects that are happening around the world, look at our Planned Stakeholder Activities page, or to tell us about your own activity on our Mandela Day activities page.