There is no point arguing that Nelson Mandela is one of the graeetst leaders the African continent has produced in history. Here are some of Nelson Mandela’s best quotes:“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death”. I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses .“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”“I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.” “One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others.” “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.” +4Was this answer helpful?

Thank you for this powerful piece

Lisa, Philip is not currently using Twitter. We will tweet the links if he ever chooses that form of social media. Thanks for reading ~ jdb

I grew up at the end of Apartheid.
This weekend has had a profound impact on me bringing up 20 or more years of memories, when I was in std 8 1985 I read cry the beloved country it changed my life…my parents had not grown up in South Africa so the racial conditioning of the time was never taught at home…when I studied at a small college in Athlone CEBI, the idea that God called me to be the difference started then, that God is the God of the struggle…I embraced the struggle, and conscientized my self for the liberation of all South Africans.
I fell in love with my best friend Joy 1993, at the time I stood the chance of being reclassified from white to Coloured (I’m a honorary Coloured now anyway!)

I chose to be the difference, and have worked in the Townships. The sad reality for our country is we are still defined black and white, I believe my children will play a great role in nation building. If all we do is complain about what’s wrong then nothing will happen, but if we take the hope we have in God, you and me in our small corner of influence can change the world, and so we work to impact one life at a time.

If I could in my lifetime do 10% of what Madiba achieved I will be overjoyed at having lived a fulfilled life

What Madiba did has allowed us to raise to wonderful daughters,( in a country teething in a new democracy), and so aptly so when we named Sian Destiny “God has favoured our Destiny” and Tiffany Joy The manifestation of The Devine…She is Devine Joy, Just like Joy her mom. Thanks Madiba for making it possible to live in freedom as people, and not to be judged by the colour of our skin… So we will continue to reflect Christ, like Madiba has, by caring for the least, forgiving the ignorant, and loving all people!

It’s so sad that you can speak about Bishop Tutu as somebody not believing in Jesus Christ and referring to yourself as a born again Christian, but failing to express the love that Jesus calls us to have for our brothers and sisters from different backgrounds.
Your post is really an indication of how far we still need to go as a country.

I have to agree with you Phillip and with what the Bishop said, its only God that could have done with this country, what He did. “God does have a sense of humour. Who in their right minds could ever have imagined South Africa to be an example of anything but the most awfulness, of how not to order a nation’s relations and its governance? We South Africans were the unlikeliest lot, and that is precisely why God has chosen us. We cannot really claim much credit ourselves for what we have achieved. We were destined for perdition and were plucked out of total annihilation. We were a hopeless case if there was one.”